Raiden vs Snake: The Shadow Moses Story
by Arlando
Summary: What starts off as a competition between who and whats better, Snake's experience or Raiden's age becomes much more than just a competition! COMPLETE
1. Its On!

A/N: OK now my shot at a Metal Gear Fic, Hope you like this one a little bit, Its just an idea that I have right now and while the idea is still in my head I want to right it down. See, my friends and I were thinking "Raiden and Snake in competition with each other in any way.who would win?" While of course we all know the answer to this I actually thought about it in a serious way. Snake has had more experience but Raiden is younger.so BAM! It hit me.VR training at its best in this Metal Gear Fic. Oh, and by the way, there ARE spoilers to BOTH MGS games in this fic. Thank you!  
  
Disclaimer: Well, you know how it goes. I don't own the characters to Metal Gear Solid, or Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty and so forth. I haven't made up any characters for this fic so it all belongs to Konami.  
  
CHAPTER 1-ITS ON!  
  
It must've been about a year now since the incident at the Big Shell. Raiden, whom had successfully stopped Solidus and Arsenal, was hoping to one day replace Snake as the "Legend." Could that ever happen? Raiden completely thought he had what it took. He was young right? His first mission had been a success and he was totally convinced he could've done it without Snake's help.  
  
"Raiden!" Snake shouted as Raiden stood there on the Foxhound training grounds with his gun in hand. Yes, Foxhound had been disbanded but Roy was able to revive the disbanded unit. Roy was happy to have Snake aboard. Not only that but Raiden was happy to meet the REAL Colonel and to see that he was an order-barking asshole like he'd thought since meeting that A. I.  
  
"Raiden!" Snake shouted once more, bringing Raiden out of deep thought in the shooting mode. "You let your mind wonder one moment on the battle field and you'll get killed kid!"  
  
Raiden just gave Snake one of those looks. It didn't matter, he could get lost in thought in VR. It wasn't real right? The crystal was at the far side of the room and all he had to do was sneak past three guards, six cameras and four cyphers in the snow. His only defense was a cardboard box. The box brought back memories of the big shell. He'd said it himself "Anyone who runs around in a cardboard box is a psycho," what a shame that this is the only thing that can save him now.  
  
Snake looked at Raiden in the VR world with a smirk on his face. "This kid is too much of a rookie.he probably doesn't even see the vent, he'll go through it the hard way like everybody else." Snake wasn't too far off either. Instead of going through the vent, Raiden was just like almost everybody else. He did it the hard way using the box and sneaking past a guard when they weren't looking, and staying put in the box when a camera had looked at him. It was when he got to the cyphers that Raiden finally messed up and was spotted.  
  
Snake chuckled as the words "Mission Failed" came across the screen. Mei Ling watched as Raiden was returned to the present world, and she removed the VR helmet off Raiden. "I was close.if it weren't that damn cypher!"  
  
Snake chuckled as he got out his smokes. He blew one right in Raiden's face. "You're still too green kid. To think that someone like you was called 'Jack the Ripper' when you were younger." He chuckled some more. Raiden bashing was always fun. "You're still too young to experience what a REAL battle is like. You wouldn't even be out of the big shell if it weren't for me!"  
  
"Shut up!" Raiden shouted at him. "You feel asleep in the middle of battle! Not to bright on your part either old man."  
  
Snake stopped his chuckles. Damn kid had a point. "I've still got more experience then you will ever have kid!"  
  
Raiden was about to walk away and go get changed out of his sneaking suit when Snake had thrown that out. He hated it when Snake talked about his experience at Outer Heaven and Zanzibar. But what he hated most was when Snake talked about Shadow Moses. "Listen you!" he began, "you may have more experience but I can go days before I get tired, and I can easily jump over rails. Admit it Snake, you're getting a little too old for the stealth missions now!"  
  
Snake flipped Raiden off at that remark. Was it really true? Was Snake really getting too old for the stealth missions now? He didn't think so. "I don't need an agile body to kick some ass!" He retorted, "All I need is the experience from the past years! I'm still stronger then you kid. You may be younger, but in the long run you need experience to win the battle!"  
  
"Whatever you say Snake, but I believe that experience is built up through youth. I may not be as good as you, but when I get spotted at least I'll be able to haul ass!"  
  
"You have one thing to learn Raiden." Snake said as a grin crossed his face and he tightened his Bandana. Then he puffed more smoke in his face. "I NEVER get discovered. You're looking at the ultimate stealth machine."  
  
Dammit! Raiden thought. He was absolutely right. Snake had never been discovered. In fact, the only time Raiden could remember when Snake was discovered was inside Arsenal. He let Snake get away with that. Snake had always blamed him for that one anyway.  
  
It was then that Raiden had looked at Mei Ling. She was smiling at Snake. "Your so full of it sometimes Snake," she chuckled.  
  
"I don't know what you're talking about."  
  
"Oh you know what I mean. What about those times in Shadow Moses? When you were spotted in the cell with Meryl, the communications tower, the elevator in the communications tower, the cargo elevator, and when Liquid and Ocelot spotted you." she wanted to continue but Snake decided to quiet her up.  
  
"AHA! Experienced or not, you still don't have what it takes. I bet you had to fight your way out because you couldn't haul ass!"  
  
"Kid, I was in an ELEVATOR there was nowhere to run! The one with Meryl was different, we both had to fight our way out. I could've gotten my ass out of there if I wanted to."  
  
"Wait, Snake." Mei Ling butted in again. Oh no! Snake thought to himself. "What about when you were captured by Ocelot after the battle with Sniper Wolf?"  
  
Raiden pointed and fell to the ground laughing. "You were CAPTURED by that freak!? At least I was given to the enemy, but CAPTURED!" He couldn't stop. For some reason it was the funniest thing he'd ever heard.  
  
"Kid, there's an excuse for everything. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time." Snake said in a defensive voice.  
  
"Oh come on Snake!" Mei Ling spoke up again. "You practically WALKED right into it!" This only made Raiden laugh even harder at Snake. This was great to him, now he had stuff that he could tell Rose about "the Legend".  
  
"Maybe I did, but if you know your enemy then everything is fine." Snake said. "Kid, even if I wasn't young, it was still my experience that got me out of all those things."  
  
Mei Ling butted in again, "except for that one where Ocelot captured you. If I recall Otacon got you out of that one," then she thought about it to herself "or was it Grey Fox.I forget."  
  
Raiden was now on his stomach and pounding the floor. "Sad Snake, real sad!" Tears were welling up in his eyes now.  
  
"What about you?" Otacon said walking into the room. He couldn't help but overhear the whole thing. Otacon had been friends with Snake since the Shadow Moses incident, and he always came and got Snake's back whenever he needed it.  
  
"What about me?" said Raiden who was now getting up off the floor. He had stopped laughing and then gave Otacon and innocent look. "I was absolutely brilliant at the big shell. You can't prove anything."  
  
Otacon could've laughed at what Raiden had said. "I wasn't there from the beginning but once you meant up with Snake, I knew everything. Raiden, you were such a rookie! You were calling and asking for help every ten seconds!" Otacon said. Snake began to smile, it was now his turn.  
  
Mei Ling was about to come to his defense but Snake quickly shut her up. "Sheesh!" He said to Mei Ling "Raiden is getting his dessert now."  
  
"You needed help with practically everything! You were such a rookie! You saw a guard and had to contact the colonel! How sad! When fighting the AV- 88 Harrier II, who bailed you out when his machine guns were firing? It was Snake!" He said as Snake raised his hands in the air. "And when you had to guide Emma across the oil fence, who came to your aid? It was Snake! Then after Vamp stabbed her, who was able to bring her to safety? Certainly not you!" The mention of Emma made him teary. But he didn't cry. "And when you were ambushed on Arsenal, who saved you? It was Snake! You wouldn't have even defeated the Rays if I hadn't told you how!" He gave Snake a high five.  
  
"Well, at least Raiden didn't piss his pants in the middle of all the action!" Mei Ling said as she smiled at Otacon. Otacon only blushed.  
  
The Colonel walked in just a little bit after. The first thing he noticed was that Otacon's face was red. "Do you need some water Hal or are you ok?" Hal was his real name, but he preferred Otacon. He shook his head.  
  
"Snake, we have more recruits, they only want to meet 'the legend'." Roy said looking at Snake  
  
"Tell them to wait, I've got to teach this kid a lesson in stealth. Tell Raiden about the shit that happened in Shadow Moses."  
  
Roy looked at Raiden and then shook his head. "You doubt that Solid Snake could amount to anything?"  
  
Raiden looked up at him and then stood there. It suddenly grew quiet and the computers in the room could be heard loading and everything. Raiden could even hear Mei Ling return to her typing. It was clear that she wasn't going to defend him anymore. "I don't doubt Snake, I just think that being young and agile is going to help you get your ass out of more trouble then your experience."  
  
"Jack," uh-oh. Raiden knew what that meant. Whenever the Colonel used his real name that meant that the fun was over. "Experience is much more handy then age. Snake has had more experience at stealth missions then you have. Sure, age helps you get out of sight, but with experience you won't be sighted."  
  
Raiden rolled his eyes. "I can beat Snake any day of the week."  
  
Mei Ling looked up now. Raiden was now challenging Snake! Was he crazy? No, Raiden wasn't crazy, just plain stupid! She looked at him with shock. "Are you sure about what you just said Raiden?"  
  
"Let him be confident Mei Ling." Said Snake. "Come on Raiden put on the VR helmet and lets go then!"  
  
"What!?" Raiden asked so suddenly. He finally realized that he'd crossed the line with that last statement. He'd challenged Snake all right. But could he beat the legend?  
  
Snake grabbed a helmet and sat down "Come on Raiden! If you're so great because of your age then prove it. I hope your stealth skills are as good as your stupidity for this."  
  
Raiden looked at the Colonel, and then at Otacon. "What did I just do?" He said as he sighed and was about to put on the VR helmet.  
  
"Mei Ling, put the setting on Shadow Moses and then put the enemy AI at eight that should satisfy both of them."  
  
"Good luck Raiden." Mei Ling said, "You're going to need it."  
  
"You crossed the line kid, now I'm gonna show you what experience can do to a person!" Snake said, "Its on Raiden! Believe me Kid, your going down."  
  
Raiden looked at the Colonel, "Do I have to do this?"  
  
"Only if you want to, but personally I want to see how this turns out."  
  
Raiden had this one moment to back out of it for good and leave everything where it was. "No, I'll go through with this! Come on Snake, its time you meant your match old man!"  
  
"I'm waiting kid!" Snake said and then they both slipped on the VR helmets and went back to Shadow Moses. 


	2. The Rules

CHAPTER 2-THE RULES  
  
A/N: Again, spoilers to BOTH MGS games in here....mostly MGS1 but don't worry...this fic is entirely focused on Snake and Raiden going head to head...mostly focused on the whole aspect. But ya know they are in a Shadow Moses VR simulation so well...yeah the other characters are there too...sucks to be Raiden  
  
Disclaimer: Yeah yeah they belong to Konami not me.  
  
CHAPTER 2-THE RULES  
  
As soon as Snake was zapped into VR, he was decked out in his sneaking suit. He had absolutely nothing but his cigs. The only problem is that they wouldn't do him a whole lot of good in the VR simulation....but at least Mei Ling wouldn't give him any crap about smoking since they couldn't do anything to his health.  
  
Snake was in the spot where he had originally started when he was actually here five years ago. The difference was that he wasn't 35 anymore, he was 40. He didn't let that stop him. "I'll show that kid whose the Big Boss around here." He said. He climbed out of the duct just as he had before. He removed the flippers.  
  
Just as he had done before, he called the Colonel. However, this was STILL the real Colonel, so he could expect that not everything was the same. After all, Otacon had made a few "adjustments" to the VR training, and that meant that now Snake could actually well, talk to the normal people and not be bothered with AI's.  
  
He put his hand on his ear and called the Colonel. "This is Solid Snake, do you read me Colonel?"  
  
It took a moment but the Colonel finally said "Loud and clear. We've adjusted this so that neither you nor Raiden can spy on each other. We've turned off your monitors so you can only talk to one person at a time. We can't have you both listening to each other."  
  
"Good point. Where is Raiden anyway?" Snake had then thought about it. They probably put him in a more advantageous position. They must feel sorry for the damn kid.  
  
"We can't tell you that Snake. Did you really think we'd put you both in the same position?" Mei Ling chimed in.  
  
"Of course not, I just wanted to know where he was."  
  
"Snake, we can't let you know that." The Colonel said. "That would be cheating on our behalf. We started you off differently so that you could find each other, and then settle it out. You've both got no weapons so your on you own."  
  
Snake had finally realized something. "Colonel, I thought you said the monitors were off? If that's so, how are you and Mei Ling talking to me?"  
  
"Figure it out Snake. We both have rules here." Raiden spoke up. The difference was that they had let Raiden know where Snake was now. But Raiden wouldn't be that dumb...or would he?  
  
"We'll switch the monitors off once we've told you both what's going on." Campbell spoke. "Listen, both of you. You both have no weapons whatsoever. That's the first thing I need to tell you about. The second, is that this really is a simulation of Shadow Moses...so that means that unit Fox-Hound is here, be on your gaurd. This isn't usually used to train soilders but to see what they've learned. Both of you, at all cost you must try your best to IGNORE the simulations of Fox-Hound. You have to remember that there is a Metal Gear REX and that the simulations WILL see you as an enemy. Focus on each other."  
  
"One more thing Colonel," Snake said, "do you feel sorry for this kid or something....he seems to know where I am."  
  
"Oh that, sorry that was me." said Mei Ling. "But hopefully Raiden won't go after you. Well, I guess he can't though huh?"  
  
"Also, you both can't use any of the guards equipment. We'll make sure to that. If you so much as pull the trigger on an enemy weapon that you didn't find yourself, you will be shocked." Campbell warned.  
  
"AHHHHHHHH!" Raiden screamed on the other end.  
  
"What is it?" Snake said...almost with concern.  
  
"You could've told me we couldn't use enemy equipment BEFORE I started to try to...."  
  
Snake chuckled. "Think of it as a stealth mission Raiden. Try to kill as little as possible, and try to stay the hell out of my way!"  
  
Campbell had one last thing to say before Mei Ling had to explain the Radar...again. "Snake, I've got fifty dollars on you so don't let me down!"  
  
"Shut up Roy," said Mei Ling. "Snake, I've got fifty dollars bet AGAINST you so don't let ME down!"  
  
Snake laughed so loud that he was almost spotted. He forgot the AI was set on eight. That meant that the guards actually were smarter than a bag of dog crap this time.  
  
"Anyway," Mei Ling began as she cleared her throat. "The Radar is just about the same as it was before. The field of vision still stays because this is VR. But the difference is that Snake, when Raiden is around...he'll appear as a green dot on your radar. The same goes for you Raiden. Also, you'll notice that we've placed less rations around this time. If either one of you dies then you'll be sent back to the real world."  
  
"Got it." Snake said. He had to wait for the elevator now. He could hear them actually switch off the monitor. Snake knew what he had to do. When the elevator came he knew Raiden would be in there...and not some dumbass guard. So Snake didn't have a choice. There were only two guards in the room, but he had to take both of them out. He quickly crawled under the crate he was behind. He was careful not to be discovered. He looked as one guard in front of him turned around. He then crawled out from under the crate and got him in a headlock. He was sneaky about it. He snapped his neck, but didn't let him fall to the ground. Instead he took the guard and tossed him in the water.  
  
The other guard heard the splash. PERFECT, just as Snake had anticipated. The guard ran to the water and watched his partner float out. It was clear to him that he was dead. As the guard was distracted, Snake pushed the him in. He didn't bother to snap his neck...which was okay because the guard couldn't swim anyway. Snake was gone before the guard could look up and see who had pushed him. Snake ran to the far side of the room. He pressed up against the wall and waited for the elevator.  
  
***  
  
Raiden was at the Heliport on the other hand. Raiden had seen this before. He'd done a simulation of Shadow Moses before. Not like this though. He was up against Fox-Hound. His records were recorded. He gotten so many alerts that the machine broke. Or at least that was his excuse. Raiden broke the machine because he was embarrassed by it. I mean...he had been spotted 971 times! That was real sad!  
  
He saw a guard go towards the elevator. Liquid was talking on the helipad...the Hind hadn't left yet. Raiden quickly went and punched the guard out cold. He got into the elevator and descended. This is gonna be EASY Raiden thought. He already knew that Snake was at the docks, so he went to the docks. What Raiden didn't know was that this was what Snake expected.  
  
***  
  
Snake knew what kind of guy Raiden was. He was the kind that thought later. He knew Raiden wasn't going to use the Soliton Radar. So Snake stood at the side of the elevator. He thought about hiding behind the cargo lift on his left, but decided against it. He KNEW Raiden was going to do something stupid.  
  
As the elevator came Raiden had ran straight out! He didn't even SEE Snake...didn't even look aorund before coming out. Take him out now? Snake thought. Raiden walked forward...still not looking behind him. No...I can't take him out now, Snake thought. That would be TOO easy...even for me.  
  
Snake finally stepped into the elevator. As Raiden heard this, he looked behind him. "Snake!" he shouted, but it was too late. Snake had already gotten away from him.  
  
***  
  
Snake stood in the elevator talking on his codec to Otacon. "This is just TOO easy Otacon. I would've taken him out right there....but I want to have some fun first." He said as he grinned. If Raiden really was that stupid then Snake could make him do ANYTHING!  
  
"What did you have in mind for him?" Otacon asked curiously. Even Snake could be evil sometimes. Snake told Otacon what he had in mind. Afterwards, Otacon busted out laughing. "Thats cruel Snake!"  
  
"I know, but he won't know the difference. I know the Colonel said to ignore Fox-Hound, but I can't resist."  
  
Snake wasn't usually like this, Otacon knew. Snake wasn't usually this laughable...he'd always taken everything so seriously in the past. But when it came to Raiden...well, Snake just LOVED to torture him.  
  
"I can't believe he didn't use his radar! What a loser!" Snake said. He actually sounded rediculous saying it. "See, he thinks he's smart because he's young. I know what happened. He thought he had me, so he didn't use his Radar."  
  
***  
  
Raiden was lucky. Now he had to wait for the elevator to come back down. "Why didn't he just take me out right there?' He said outloud. No one was going to hear him right? "Geez I really messed up that time." For that one mistake he was furious at himself. Then he grinned. "Wait! He probably thought it was a guard! Yeah thats it...a guard!" He said. He actually believed his own god damn lie!  
  
It was about three minutes and thirty seconds before he hard the elevator coming down again. He stood up. Time to go after Snake. Much like a moron Raiden stood in front of the elevator....and as it came back down he saw that the same guard he knocked out was in the elevator...and he had just awakened!  
  
The guard looked at him and made no hesitation to shoot. He couldn't call for back up anyway. As Raiden was being shot at he ran to the other side of the room. His only choice was to jump in the water. "Snake you bastard!" He screamed...and then he jumped right in.  
  
The guard started to laugh as Raiden surfaced. "What's so funny?"  
  
"Snake told me all about you!" The guard says. "Did you even notice that they're no bullets holes in the crates!?"  
  
That bastard! Raiden thought. What the hell was going on? Am I supposed to trust this guy? He slowly climbed out of the water. The guard was still laughing. The gun was loaded with blanks the whole time! Raiden went up to the gaurd after surfacing. "Snake put you up to this?"  
  
"Yeah he did...he said that there was some dumbass runt down here...of course I thought he was Liquid with the accent he was putting on. He's pretty good at that you know?"  
  
OF COURSE! Snake still had his mullet! That made him look slightly more similar to Liquid than before!  
  
The guard continued, "He told me to get out the blanks and so I did! Said you were really easy to fool!"  
  
Raiden went up and punched the guard. Snake can manipulate the guards now? He couldn't get away with it all the time. But how did the guard know that it was Snake who told him all that? "Maybe I should've asked him that before knocking him out." Raiden said as he went into the elevator.  
  
TO BE CONTINUED....  
  
A/N What did you think of that Chapter? Pretty good huh? Not bad for a first timer at least....There is more on the way so please R+R! Whats gonna happen to Raiden next? Who knows for sure...but Snake is having some fun playing around with him. 


	3. Hide and Seek

A/N: Okay, so far people seem to like where this is going. Thats good cuz now I have a reason to continue! Oh and again, there ARE SPOILERS TO BOTH MGS GAMES! Don't worry Raiden fans (if there are any out there) Raiden will eventually fool Snake....probably....  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters to MGS and Blah Blah Blah you get the picture!  
  
CHAPTER 3-HIDE AND SEEK  
  
Snake had made his way onto the Helipad with ease. He couldn't believe how dumb Raiden can be sometimes. It was hard to believe he even survived the Big Shell after that stunt down below. Snake made his way to the truck on the Helipad and hopped right in. He went to the back and got the SOCOM once more. "Damn kid couldn't even find the Socom....how sad." He said under his breath. He glanced at his radar. One guard was asleep and the other was too far south to see him.  
  
He jumped out of the truck. He quickly put away his gun. Not even Raiden would've been stupid enough to fire a gun without a surpressor. Snake looked at the camera. It brought back memories. He quickly ran under the blind spot and up the stairs only to come to a stop about halfway. There was one more guard. Snake kept a close eye on him. The guard turned around and walked away only to stop and turn around quickly. The guard then turned and walked away. Snake quickly ran up the stairs while the guard was walking in the other direction. He climbed in the vent without being discovered. It was a piece of cake!  
  
Now Snake was in the vent. Now if this was the REAL Shadow Moses he'd expect a call from Master Miller; but since Otacon "adjusted" the version none of that stuff was going to happen. As he crawled through he did get one call though. He didn't know why anyone would call him now but he answered anyway. "That wasn't fair Snake!" It was Raiden.  
  
Snake just chuckled a bit. "Don't blame me for your stupidity." He wish he could blow smoke in his face but Raiden wasn't there. "The Colonel may have said to ignore them, but he never said that was one of the rules of the game." Raiden was about to say something but Snake had already cut him off and ended the call. He then continued to climb through the vent. His destination: the DARPA chief.  
  
***  
  
Raiden was back on the Heliport now. He didn't know what he was going to do now. 'I can't let Snake win this' he thought to himself. He quickly ran around the Helipad. He didn't want to risk getting spotted by the lights. However, unlike Snake, Raiden decided to take the lower entrance. The guard that was once asleep was awake and walking around now. Raiden moved slightly around the truck. The other guard was still to the south. Now THAT one had fallen asleep.  
  
Raiden quickly dashed for the lower entrance once it was clear. The thing was, once again, Raiden went without thinking. Only this time he didn't LOOK either. Right above the vent was a camera. It didn't matter however, by the time the Camera sounded an alarm to alert the guards Raiden had already slipped in unnoticed.  
  
Raiden crawled through the vents just as Snake did. He didn't get any calls though. That was OK with him. "Can't let Snake win." He kept telling himself. He was still upset with Snake for the guard.  
  
Raiden moved slightly quicker then Snake through the vents. This time, there wasn't any water. Probably another "adjustment" that Otacon had mad to the VR. But the rats were still there.  
  
Raiden could finally see light. He went up to it, but didn't climb out just yet. He looked around first. He looked at the upper level and saw Snake coming down a ladder. 'I've found you at least' he said to himself. He wanted to climb out and confront Snake now. He wanted to smack the living shit out of Snake. But Snake was stronger. Snake had a lot more power and vigor then Raiden could ever muster. But still, Raiden could take it!  
  
He watched Snake sneak down the stairs, there were two guards in the Tank Hanger, and Snake was walking by as if walking down the street! When he finally got to the elevator he actually stood there and waited for it! 'How the hell?' Raiden thought. When the elevator arrived, Snake smiled.  
  
'Did he see me?' Raiden started to think. Suddenly Snake pointed to where Raiden was, and then lowered his voice into a British accent. "There he is you fools, in the vent on the eastern wall catch him!" He said and the guards didn't even question just ran right to the vent.  
  
Now Raiden understood! The guards only HEARD Snake, they didn't actually SEE him. All he had to do was change his voice. Raiden quickly backed away before the guards could see him. Regardless of which, they tossed in a grenade anyway. Raiden quickly backed away as the grenade exploded. "If he really was in there, he isn't now." A guard said as they both returned to their post.  
  
Raiden slowly creeped out of the shadows. The grenade didn't have that much power thank goodness for him. Raiden then crawled out of the vent and stood up. The guards weren't anywhere near. Raiden looked at his Radar and noticed that after all that he never even THOUGHT to turn it on. When he did, it made it a lot easier. He walked up to the elevator and pushed the button. He waited for it just as Snake did. Much like Snake he wasn't discovered.  
  
He stepped in and went down to the armory. For the first time so far, he was in a completely empty area. The armory still had the the badly painted walls. He really did look awkward to him. In the simulation everything was green. These walls were a slight mix of gray and blue.  
  
Raiden quickly dashed to where the SOCOM originally was. Thank-god it was still there! He grabbed it quickly. There was a surpressor too and he took that as well. He put the surpressor on, and then heard the elevator open. Raiden quickly hid behind more boxes of ammo. He looked at his radar for once to see who it was. It was a green dot! Snake was here! Raiden still stayed where he was.  
  
Snake opened a door to the C4. He knew Raiden was around, but Snake wanted to get his hands on a FAMAS and fast. The only way he could do that was to find the Armstech President, Kenneth Baker. He grabbed some C4 and then quickly made his way to the Grenades. He only took a box and that had four. He took the four and strapped them to his sneaking suit.  
  
Raiden still stayed where he was. He was breathing heavily. His heart was beating fast! He wanted to go out there and blast Snake but that would've been no fun now would it? Raiden felt like a claymore, waiting for Snake to enter his range so that he could explode! He wanted to scream and jump out firing Rambo-style, but he still stayed put. He was actually THINKING!  
  
Finally Snake made his way to where the Socom bullets were. He looked in there but he didn't seem to see Raiden...either that or he had something else up his sleeve.  
  
Snake put C4 on the southwestern wall. He backed away and detonated it. But before he went through he head back to the Socom room. He looked in there, Raiden still wouldn't come out. He knew Raiden was there. Snake took a grenade, and pulled the pin out. He dropped it.  
  
From Raiden's eye everything started to move in slow motion now! The pin that Snake pulled hit the ground with a high pitched CLINK! Snake dropped the grenade and ran! "You Bastard!" Raiden shouted as the grenade went off. After the smoke had finally cleared, Raiden had emerged from the blast. He had sustained little damage. The blast obviously wasn't meant to kill him. Snake was already long gone. Raiden heard about two more blast.  
  
Without thinking, he once again ran and tried to catch up. He had a second chance to end it now. Once he entered into the first hole....his radar was jammed! "Not now!" he shouted. Dammit, that wasn't the right thing to do! He then slowly walked forward. He pressed himself onto the wall and slowly moved down. He jumped out and aimed his gun in another empty hall. Snake was gone! But there were TWO holes blown in now. One he could see on the left side...he knew where that lead to. The other was just straight down the corridor. He wasn't sure if he should advance or not. "Act first, think later," he always told himself. Snake was the complete opposite of him. He ran down the hall, and suddenly came to a stop. 'This is just what he WANTS me to do' Raiden thought. If he ran straight down the hall into that hole, Snake could jump him. But if he went into the hole adjacent to him, he'd fight Ocelot.  
  
He looked in at Kenneth Baker. Sure he wasn't real, but Raiden knew that he had the level 2 key card. Kenneth was strapped to wires. If those wires were touched...the C4 he was strapped to would explode. Raiden just stood there and looked at him. Suddenly Raiden began to space out. Why did he do that in the middle of battle!  
  
Snake came up from behind and pushed Raiden in the room! Raiden flew right into the room, but thankfully didn't hit the C4. Ocelot shot at Snake, not Raiden. Raiden quickly tried to reach into Kenneth's pocket for the keycard but it was no luck.  
  
As Ocelot shot at Snake for a moment, it was almost as if Raiden was non- existent. Raiden stayed down low. He shot at Ocelot twice before he was finally noticed.  
  
"Who the hell are you!" Ocelot said and went into a shooting frenzy. He shot at Snake some more and switched between him and Raiden. It wasn't long before Grey Fox came and cut off his hand....again.  
  
Raiden laughed as the C4 ignited and he was forced to use one of his Rations. He looked at Snake. Snake pointed his gun at Raiden. He pulled the trigger....DAMN! Out of ammo!  
  
Raiden got up and laughed at Snake, as he pointed his gun at Snake instead. He pointed at Snake and time froze as he pulled the trigger....  
  
TO BE CONTINUED....  
  
A/N I'm sorry if some of you don't like the ending to this chapter...seeing as how for the first time so far Raiden got the upper hand...but just wait and see what happens! 


	4. Catch me if you can

A/N: OK that last chapter threw some people a little bit I can tell! Don't worry though. As for Raiden thinking...well don't worry you'll see that his thinking didn't get him too far after what Snake is about to put him through! Again (and I'm gonna keep saying it!) There ARE SPOILERS TO BOTH MGS GAMES!!!!  
  
Another Authors Note: It turns out that later on there was an error in the story in which I have now fixed. Thanks to ReanimatedSpirit this error has been fixed.  
  
Disclaimer: Umm you know how it goes  
  
CHAPTER 4-CATCH ME IF YOU CAN  
  
"AHHHHHH." Raiden screamed as he pulled the trigger on the SOCOM. He immediantly dropped it in atagonizing pain! "What the hell happened!?"  
  
Snake just laughed as Raiden went down to the ground. "This is just great!" He said as he tried to control his laugher. "Think about the grenade in the armory kid. Listen well. I got to the DARPA chief and claimed my card right?" He said flashing the Level 1 keycard in front of Raiden. Raiden just slowly nodded. "When I was ambushed by the guards that came in I killed one and took HIS Socom pistol, and took MY surpressor and put it on. Of course I couldn't use it, so I easily slid in the enemy Socom while you were blinded by the blast."  
  
Raiden just looked at Snake shocked. Then he looked at the Socom he'd dropped. "Then where is mine?" He asked Snake. He was mad once again.  
  
Snake reached into his sneaking suit and pulled out a second Socom pistol. It was the one that Raiden found only it was in Snake's possession. "You left it right in the armory, didn't stop to think obviously. You just picked up any gun lying around and ran for it." He was absolutely right. Easily, and ocne again, Raiden had been fooled by The Legend. "I didn't think that one would work but I know you Raiden."  
  
Raiden pounded the ground, and then heard Kenneth moan next to him. Raiden had completely forgotten about him. He didn't care though, he was too pissed off to want to care.  
  
Snake walked over to Kenneth and reached in his pocket and grabbed a level 2 keycard. "Here you can have this one I guess." He said and dropped the Level 1 keycard in front of Raiden. Snake had no more use for it. It wouldn't serve Raiden much good either.  
  
"Alright Raiden, I'm heading north through the canyon, think you can keep up? I won't kill you here, that would just be too easy." Snake said. Of course he didn't want to kill Raiden here, that really WOULD be too easy. Instead he wanted to have some more fun. Snake left and didn't worry about Kenneth Baker at all. Raiden figured that he better do the same thing.  
  
***  
  
"Who's winning?" Campbell said as he came out of the restroom. He'd missed that last moment where Raiden had shocked himself. "Snake is I'm to presume?"  
  
Mei Ling didn't like this at all. "Yeah, he's winning....I think I'm feeling more sorry for Snake than Raiden. I mean I'm rooting for Raiden and all, but for Snake this is just too easy, and for that I feel sorry that Snake doesn't have any REAL competition."  
  
"Are you trying to back out of the bet now?" Campbell asked.  
  
Mei Ling smiled. "I've already lost this one." she chuckled. But she was enjoying it more than anyone else. "You missed Raiden shock himself."  
  
Just then Otacon walked in with some popcorn. "Anything good happen? How are my adjustments working?" He started to eat some popcorn. Watching Snake and Raiden was pure entertainment.  
  
"Yeah..." Mei Ling said. "Raiden pulled another....ummm....Raiden." she chuckled.  
  
"I told you Snake was going to win! It just isn't a competition!" Otacon laughed. He was absolutely right though. "I mean, come on Mei Ling. Even you have to admit, what made Raiden even THINK he could stand up to Solid Snake?"  
  
Mei Ling was silent, but then a smile crossed her face. "Yeah, you're right. But I think I just wanted to see Raiden screw up."  
  
"But you bet against Snake! You know he's going to win!" Campbell said.  
  
"Hey! It could've turned out like one of those movies. Raiden needed SOME spirit didn't he?" Mei Ling said. She had no idea which side she was on now.  
  
"Okay fine! But lets keep watching alright, I want to see what Snake is going to do next. If he's smart he'll take advantage of that Liquid voice he's got." Campbell said.  
  
As Otacon ate some more popcorn he finally said, "Oh by the way. I had to take Meryl out of the VR simulation. I couldn't risk someone actually advancing the story by getting a hold of the PAL key." He said.  
  
The Colonel wasn't all to thrilled about that but he finally decided that may have been the best way to go. "But then that means that Baker has it right?"  
  
Otacon nodded, "Yeah of course, if Meryl isn't there he can't give it to anyone right?"  
  
Campbell smacked his hand on his forehead. "Hal, did you ever think he might give it to Raiden?"  
  
"I never thought that Raiden would be so egotistical as to challenge Snake, so I left the PAL key in there altogether. You said that we had to test what they learned. They can't learn to destroy a Metal Gear without activating the PAL right?" He had a point. Finally the Colonel decided he was right.  
  
"Sheesh! I want to see the rest of this!" Mei Ling ordered. They all sat down and watched more of 'The Shadow Moses Story' as they called it.  
  
***  
  
Snake had picked up the claymores in the canyon, making sure not to advance too far. He had more stuff planned. He didn't want to fight the M1 Tank, and he wasn't going to either. He picked up all the claymores and decided that he could use them later. Raiden would be here soon. Snake badly wanted to put the mines in front of the door so he could blast the hell out of him. Then he decided agaisnt it. He actually HAD to have the will power not to kill Raiden. He almost couldn't wait for the conclusion. After Snake was done he quickly hid behind a rock in the canyon. Then again, he could stand right next to the door and watch Raiden run out....that would be much funner, but Snake actually knew how to be smart....something Raiden had yet to learn.  
  
The door began to open as Raiden walked out. He was gasping for air in a way that he never dreamed. Snake could hear him. 'Stupid kid must've walked into the censors' Snake thought.  
  
Raiden had turned off his Radar for some odd reason. Apparantly he thought it was still jammed. He had no desire to turn it on anymore. If Snake was going to play this way....then hell he'd play too. Raiden ran forward and kept going until he tripped a claymore and it detonated!  
  
"Oops!" Snake said quietly as he tried to hold back laugher. "Must've missed one." He watched Raiden get up and brush the snow off of him. Snake could see that Raiden didn't have any grenades. Did Snake really believe that Raiden had played through a VR of this before? Raiden also didn't have his SOCOM anymore, but he kept the surpressor in case he found another one...and that was likely.  
  
Raiden kept going forward, and once again he passed Snake. Snake quickly and quietly went to the other side of the rock facing away from Raiden. Once again he was out of site. Raiden kept running forward until the ground began to rumble. "What now!" he shouted.  
  
From the other building and M1 tank had emerged. "This is Raven's territory." a voice from inside came. The hatched opened and Raiden looked at a tall muscular man. "Snake's don't belong in.....who the hell are you!?" Raven said pointing at Raiden. "You're not Snake!"  
  
Raiden shifted his eyes a little bit. Where was Snake? He wasn't in sight at all! He looked back up at Raven. "Well, who are you?"  
  
Raiden just stared there...he didn't know what he was going to do now. "Answer me you....whatever the hell you are!" Raiden just continued to stare at him in confusion. "Ugh! this is hopeless." Raven said. "Send him a message." The tank then fired from its main cannon. Now it'd be nice to say that it hit Raiden and killed him but that wouldn't have been any fun for Snake. Raiden dodged out of the way with his torso-axial.  
  
The M1 tank then fired its machine gun for a moment. Raiden was still able to dodge but barely. He didn't think to pick up ANY items whatsoever after Snake had given him the keycard.  
  
Raiden was finally able to find shelter behind a large rock. The M1 tank didn't advance forward. Instead it continued to fire its main cannon until Raiden would come on out.  
  
"What an idiot," Snake said. Raiden didn't even notice Snake was in his sight now. But Snake had pulled a chaff grenade out anyway.  
  
Snake then bolted out with a grenade in hand as the Tank opened up the hatch. With one swift move Snake was up in front of the tank with the pin pulled out of the grenade. The tank was so slow in movement that Snake had no problem getting on top and dropping a grenade in. He quickly closed the hatch and jumped off. The grenade detonated inside. The hatch flew open as a guard came flying right out! Snake being the smart one hid behind the tank.  
  
Raiden, being the....ummm...not so smart one peaked out from behind the rock. He didn't even see ANYTHING that had just happened. He smiled and then looked around. No one was in sight at all! He jump up screaming "IN YOUR FACE YOU BULKY BITCH! WHOSE YOUR DADDY!"  
  
Snake heard this and then just groaned at the fact of Raiden taking credit for everything. Just like he had in the Big Shell.  
  
Raiden then walked up to the door. The level 1 card wasn't going to get him in at all. He didn't seem to even try and search the guard. He was afraid he'd get shocked all over again.  
  
Snake finally took the level 3 card out of the guard pocket and threw it at Raiden. It hit him right in the back of the head! "OW!" Raiden shouted. He acted as if it heart. But once he picked it up the door opened. "YES! Chalk another one up for Raiden!" He said.  
  
After Raiden went in, Snake searched inside the tank. Raven wasn't dead, but he was unconcious. The other guard was definitely dead, as the grenade had laned right on him. Snake searched that guard instead. He pulled out a level 5 card. He knew that if there was no Meryl, he'd have to find that card another way. He just didn't think it would be that simple.  
  
***  
  
Inside the nuke building Raidn right to the end of the large corridor and looked under for a moment. "Snake must already be in there." He said softly. No guard heard him. He finally turned on his Radar once again. No guards in sight so he climbed under.  
  
Just as he'd done so Snake had entered. Raiden didn't acknowledge this as he wanted another weapon so he continued to crawl under, even after hearing Snake entering. Raiden quickly got up and noticed a guard was coming to his position. There was a truck in the area, so he ran and jumped inside the truck. There were boxes piled up, perfect place for Raiden to hide.  
  
Snake had seen Raiden jump into the truck. Snake still had two grenades left. He then grinned. He knew what he WANTED to do, but he just couldn't do it. They were in a Nuke Building. If he tossed a grenade in there, it would kill them both. Snake still wanted to do it. But he didn't want to kill himself, that was a Raiden thing to do.  
  
Snake then quickly came up with an easy idea. He had a level 5 key card right? He could go back and get a PSG-1 from the Armory. It wasn't too far, and the canyon wasn't secured yet...so why not? He quickly acted on that thought.  
  
***  
  
Raiden climbed out of the truck, he didn't take a box with him...sadly. He ran up the stairs. Another adjustment that Otacon made was that he took the Cameras off the first floor of the Nuke Building. He ran on the upper level. Then he presed himself up against the wall. There were a stack of boxes in the way. He hid behind them as not to be seen by the guards below. The guard on the upper level came up right next to him! It scared Raiden shitless! He quickly punched the guard over the rail. Not too smart.  
  
The guard screamed and hit the ground with a hard pounding THUD!  
  
"Oh my god!" Raiden said. He then quicly went to the elevator. By the time a guard had spotted him, he was already in and on his way to the second floor. He heard an alarm sound for other guards. He didn't even notice that he had been spotted.  
  
He arrived on the second floor quickly. He ran out very quickly. There were guards looking for him. He looked at his radar. There was one guard right around the cornor from the elevator he'd come on, and there were at least two in the bathroom, and another three in the office! There was no where to go...except one place.  
  
Raiden quickly ran into the women's bathroom. He stayed there until the alert was over and the guards would stop searching. There was a call on his codec while he was there. "Get your ass out of there!" It was Mei Ling. "Are you some kind of pervert! I"m not going to be rooting for you now!"  
  
"Hey," he said quietly, but his voice still echoed. The guards didn't hear though...not like they'd go in there anyway. Now to think of it, I'm not sure why they have a women's bathroom at all! "I'll be find in here, its the only safe place!"  
  
"Get out of there right now Raiden or I'll tell the Colonel your cheating!" Mei Ling threatened. Raiden didn't have a choice....if he didn't want to get the Colonel involved, that is.  
  
Just as Raiden came out the alert was over. He quickly hid behind a piller right next to the bathroom. He sighed with relief. He looked at his radar. Only two guards were in there now. Both of them in the office. "This is my chance!" He said to himself as he rushed to the mens room. "Gotta go real bad!"  
  
"For the love of God!" Mei Ling was still on the codec. Raiden forgot to cut her off. "You're in VR Raiden! How can you think to go to the bathroom."  
  
"When you gotta go you gotta go!" Raiden said and then cut her off.  
  
***  
  
Snake came back to the Nuke building with his new toy. The PSG-1. If he wanted to get through without sneaking, this was the only way to do it. There were only two guards, Snake noticed. The one on the upper level had been killed. Snake peaked through the crack in the barely open door. He shot one guard in the head quick. The guard fell and before he could hit the ground the other guard was already by his side. The second guard picked up his radio but Snake shot it with 110% accuracy. He then shot the guard for the hell of it. It wasn't neccessary after the Radio was gone he could've taken him with his bare hands, but decided against it.  
  
Snake crawled under and quickly ran to the truck. If there was one thing Snake knew about cardboard boxes, it was that they always had the goods. Most of them were empty, but he still managed to find an M9 tranquilizer. Another adjustment that Otacon had made. Snake took the M9, this was much better now. Sadly, the PSG-1T wasn't going to be in this simulation. Snake went to the elevator quickly and went to the second floor.  
  
*** 10 minutes later  
  
Raiden was still standing there and pissing away in the stall. The guards hadn't even come in yet! A call came in on his codec but he didn't answer. It was probably Mei Ling calling to talk to him about "evacuating" as she called it. He was finally done and fushed the toilet. He looked on hsi radar and saw a green dot. Snake was in the area, but was he using his radar?  
  
Snake knew where Raiden was, but Raiden wasn't his target. He had to take out Wolfe first. Another adjustment that Otacon made was that he had removed the battle with Mantis to another point in the simulation. Not even Snake knew where this was, but he kept going anyway.  
  
Snake made his way into the Wolf cave. The wolves wouldn't attack him this time though. If there was one thing Snake made Otacon do, it was to make sure that dogs ADORED Snake. And they did too.  
  
Snake knew what Sniper Wolf was like. As a precaution he led a wolf with him. He knew that Wolf loved the dogs. He went through the level five door. As soon as he stepped through Wolf was already aiming at him. Snake set down his PSG-1 and pulled out his Socom and pointed at the dog. The "Sniper Alleyway" as he called it, wasn't all that long, but a standard weapon certainly didn't have enough range. He called accross the alley. "I can give you someone!" He shouted.  
  
He started to walk down the alley, and the dog followed him. He had picked up his Sniper Rifle and walked down the alley with that in one hand...and his Socom in the other. About mid-way down he meant up with Wolf. "He'll through that door momentarily." Snake said to her. YES! This was one of the BEST things Snakes could do to Raiden before he had that chance to kill him. He wanted Raiden to endure what that sick-bastard Ocelot had done to him.  
  
"As long as you leave my loved one alone." Wolf said. Snake agreed to it. The only thing they had to do now was wait for Raiden. Snake grinned.  
  
***  
  
Raiden was thinking how to get through the doors. He had no idea. He was still in the bathroom, only this time in a stall on the toilet seat. No, he didn't have to go...he was just exhausted. Snake was always one step ahead of him. Raiden still hadn't figured that part out though. The door opened and a guard walked in.  
  
The guard didn't notice Raiden on the toilet seat, perhaps he had to pee really bad. Raiden then came to a conclusion. A guard had to carry a card to get places, right? Raiden jumped off the crapper and then went and got the guard in a choke hold. He decided to snap his neck. Perhaps that wasn't the best way to do it. Maybe he should've knocked the guard out instead. He grabbed the card, at least it was level 5.  
  
He dashed out of the bathroom and went through the doors. He had to catch Snake. He didn't want to be fooled anymore....but that just wasn't possible.  
  
Raiden ran into the Wolf Cave, and heard a lot of barking. Again, Raiden didn't grab a weapon. He was so content on catching up with Snake that he completely forgot all about it. He still had no weapons. He wanted to go back and get some but he just didn't bother to do so. Snake was all that was on his mind.  
  
As he ran through the cave, a wolf jumped out and attacked him! He screamed as his leg was bitten. It hurt pretty bad. The wolf dragged Raiden by the leg. He didn't fight it or anything. He was still taking Raiden closer to the exit so he thought of it as a way to relax. As he was being dragged he hit his head on a rock. "Ouch!" He yelped. The dog then set him down just before the door. He sniffed Raiden a bit. Then he lifted his leg up and peed on him. "God! Get away!" Raiden screamed. The wolf ran away. Raiden smelled pretty bad now.  
  
Raiden came to a stance finally as the the pee rushed down his face now. He felt pretty disgusted with himself. He walked through the door.  
  
As he entered the alleyway, his radar was once again jammed. "Could this get any worse?" He said walking down the alleyway. Snake was way ahead of him now. Who knew where he could be hiding. He ran down the alley way. As he ran he didn't bother looking in any of the shadows. Too bad he didn't do that. If he had he'd have spotted Snake in the very last one.  
  
Raiden was at the base of the Communications Tower A now. An alarm sounded as he was ambushed by three guards and a female sniper. "Dammit!" he screamed. He wanted to scream more, but Sniper Wolf could've easily killed him.  
  
"It's hard to miss when your this close." She walked up with the rifle pointed at his forehead. Then she took one big whiff of Raiden. "Damn! You stink when was the last time you showered!?"  
  
Raiden looked at her, "Ummm.....about ten minutes ago." He said this and then a guard started to cough and pretty soon he fainted. "Oh come on I don't smell THAT bad."  
  
Wolf looked at the guard who fell to the ground. He was chuckling now. "Get up!" the Sniper ordered.  
  
"Yes ma'am." He said as he sprung up. She tilted her head just slightly to the left. Raiden just gave an awkward look, then suddenly he was knocked out cold!  
  
Snake came from the shadows as he saw Raiden go to the ground. "I have one more thing to ask of you." He said as Raiden was carried off.  
  
"What is it?" Wolf looked at him. She had no intention on actually hurting Snake anymore. Raiden was good enough. She liked how Raiden didn't even talk back or anything. She could easily tell that he wasn't a soilder.  
  
"I want your level 7 keycard." Snake said as he put a cigerette in his mouth.  
  
"On one condition." Wolf said.  
  
"And that would be?"  
  
"Give me a cigerette." That was all she wanted? A cigerette? Snake gave in to that. He then took the level 7 keycard and entered the Comm. Tower. Then he turned around. "And Wolf, tell Ocelot not to kill the kid. That'll be my job." He then turned around and walked into the tower.  
  
TO BE CONTINUED....  
  
A/N: Yeah this chapter was actually kind of long wasn't it? I didn't mean for it to be that long, but I wanted it to end with Raiden being taken to Ocelot. I also had to make sure we all knew what Snake was doing. If this chapter was kind of boring....well sorry about that. 


	5. Truth

A/N: OK, my usual (its a habit actually) note before the beginning. This chapter actually is focused a bit more on the characters. I know that this seems kind of boring, but by far this is one of the most important chapters of the whole story! If you wanna skip it go ahead. I just thought I'd give the story a bit more dialogue in this chapter, and focus a bit on some of the aspects of the characters (besides Raiden being a dumbass for once). However, the ending to this chapter reveals a bit more to the story of the ummm story....  
  
Disclaimer: Same old, same old!  
  
CHAPTER 5-TRUTH  
  
Raiden was strapped to a device of some kind. He didn't really like this at all. Maybe it wasn't the best idea to challenge the legend after all. He began to have second thoughts about it. When he had finally awakened he could hear voices, but the room was still spinning.  
  
"Don't kill him yet, I want him alive!"  
  
"Leave it to me!"  
  
"I want no more accidents like that DARPA chief."  
  
"Yes, he's my target, mine alone!"  
  
Raiden felt like he was on a table. He could still hear voices. He didn't try to move at all, didn't budge. He actually liked the rest he'd gotten on the machine. It was like being taken out of VR for a moment. He breathed softly. Not only that, but he was bored like nothing else. He wanted them to shut up.  
  
The torture machine he was strapped to finally folded down. Much like how Snake was the first time, Raiden was shirtless. Staring him in the face were three people. Ocelot, Sniper Wolf, and Liquid Snake. They each looked at him for the moment. No, this wasn't Snake, but for Ocelot it was acceptable.  
  
Ocelot was completely convinced that he and Snake were working together. After all, he and Snake were both shooting at him. Ocelot had left before Raiden could pull the trigger on Snake. This was supposed to be a competition between them and only them. Now Fox Hound was getting involved.  
  
Raiden didn't want to die here. If he was going to loose at the "game", then he wanted to actually fight it out. Sure, he probably wasn't going to die here, Snake wouldn't let that happen....would he?  
  
***  
  
Snake wasn't worried about Raiden at all. He had no remorse. He sat in the Comm. Tower A for a moment. He was a little tired now. He sat down in the tower for a moment. He couldn't sleep now. He didn't care as much about the competition as he did about teaching Raiden a lesson.  
  
Snake was about to head back to the armory for a few more supplies. He had one chaff grenade, and only one grenade left. He needed more supplies. He didn't know when Mantis would come around. He didn't even know if Mantis was in the simulation. That was all this was. It was nothing more than a game. It was a game in which Snake had an advantage at.  
  
Snake wanted to teach Raiden a lesson. The damn kid needed it. He was just too damn green. He was WAY to much of a rookie and everybody knew it. He never bothered to check around at each moment when Snake was around. He had ran around blindly with his radar off, and never once has he really thought things through. He was always in too much of a rush. Yeah, Raiden was definitely a rookie, and definitely wasn't a soilder.  
  
Snake's codec rang. He didn't really want to take the call, but with Raiden in torture he was actually really bored so he took it anyway. "That was low Snake, it really was!" It was Mei Ling. Snake didn't care though. He needed some sort of entertainment.  
  
"Its for his own good Mei Ling, and you know it is."  
  
She sighed, "But the Colonel said to ignore Fox-Hound and focus on the competition!"  
  
"He said to ignore them, but he didn't say it was part of the rules." Snake retorted.  
  
Mei Ling was about to respond but she stopped herself. She couldn't argue with that one. He was right after all. "Couldn't there have been a better way?"  
  
"I guess there could've been a better way. But this is VR he can't be killed. Besides he could just submit anyway." Snake said. Again, he had a point. However, Mei Ling still didn't agree with him. She didn't really think Raiden deserved THAT. Snake found it hard to believe she was standing up for the kid. "I don't care what the hell happened to him on the Big Shell it wasn't the same!" Snake didn't even want to think about that again. Raiden running around naked was VERY disturbing. "He was freed easily at the big shell Mei Ling. Its time I make him into a soilder."  
  
Mei Ling was completely clueless. She didn't know what happened at the Big Shell. She'd heard plenty of stories about it and all, but she didn't know what to believe. Raiden had told her one story, Otacon a different story, and Snake a different story. Each had told her a different story! She didn't know who to believe, but Otacon seemed more believeable then Raiden or Snake. Snake was too focused on Raiden's cons, and Raiden was to focused on his own pros. It made her sick!  
  
"Why do you go so far out of your way for that kid?" Snake asked very sternly. Snake didn't want to butt in, and he usually wasn't the type to pry, but this one was haunting.  
  
"Snake, I believe everybody has promise. Raiden just doesn't know what his is yet. I try to give him confidence so that he knows what his promise is. But you can't understand that. Can you Snake?"  
  
Snake was silent for a moment. "Mei Ling, yeah, Raiden may have promise. But on the battlefield? No, someone like that can't have much promise. You go up agaisnt your enemy without knowing a damn thing about them and they'll take advantage of you! Raiden doesn't know ANYTHING!"  
  
Mei Ling actually thought about that. Maybe Snake was right. Maybe the battlefield was no place for Raiden to be. He certainly couldn't go up in a competition agaisnt Snake.  
  
"Mei Ling, I want you to do something for me." Snake said.  
  
"What?"  
  
"I want you to look into the Shadow Moses VR program and pull up Raidens stats. I want to see how he did on this simulation. He says that he's done it before...maybe he has. But he couldn't have gotten that far!" Snake said.  
  
Mei Ling agreed to this and then she was cut off.  
  
Snake sighed to himself. He put his hand on his forehead, then tightened his Bandana. He tried to think about what Mei Ling had said. Then he dismissed the thought. Even if it was VR, he was still on the battlefield, and he still had to watch his own ass.  
  
***  
  
Liquid and Wolf had left. Ocelot was setting up the torture machine, and preparing. He was going to enjoy torturing this kid. Hell, he ALWAYS enjoyed it. But this time he wanted answers more than anything. Ocelot's only concern was Snake. "Tell me where Snake is, and the torture will stop...I promise." He said as his one hand continued to push buttons along the device.  
  
'What the hell?!' Raiden thought. Where could Snake be? By now Snake would be off collecting more weapons. Raiden still didn't know that it was Snake who had put him in this hell hole in the first place. "I honestly don't know where Snake is."  
  
"The fun hasn't even started yet, and your giving up?"  
  
"But I really don't know, Its the truth!"  
  
"Shove it kid! I don't know who the hell you are, but you and Snake are obviously in this together. I've seen liers like you before. You're going to defend your partner at all cost!" Ocelot said.  
  
'Dammit!' Raiden thought. 'How the hell do I get out of here?' He began to look around a bit. There was still time left before the torture right?  
  
Ocelot had finally finished the preparations. "They're will be an electric shock sent through out your entire body! I'll keep doing that until you talk and tell me! For each time you don't talk, I'll torture you longer and longer. Don't worry there will be breaks...when I say so."  
  
Raiden didn't like how this was going so far. He wasn't sure if he could take this. Ocelot began to start the torture. Raiden was screaming in agony...and then he felt nothing. "You little wuss I haven't even started yet!" Ocelot snapped.  
  
When Ocelot actually did start though the pain really was very agonizing. But it wasn't too bad. In fact, Raiden felt as though he coud keep this up for a while. Granted he couldn't endure NEARLY as much as Snake, but this first one he got through pretty easily.  
  
The time ran out, and Ocelot had to take a moment to reset. "We're not finished yet!" He laughed. He just enjoyed torturing people so much! It made him feel like he had so much power over everybody!  
  
The second one ran about 15 seconds longer than the first one. Raiden was still able to take it, but his body was starting to feel fatique. "Come on! One more time!" Ocelot said as he was already restarting the machine. He added another fifteen seconds onto the time limit.  
  
Raiden was able to take this one too. The third one had more of a charge to it though. 'The bastard is trying to kill me!' Raiden thought. He wanted it to stop! The pain was starting to add up now. He was starting to lose the feeling in his arm. He could still take it though. He didn't have a choice otherwise. There was nothing that Raiden could do to stop this! Snake had just disappeared.  
  
Ocelot stopped. "Give up! Make it easier on yourself! One more time!"  
  
He started up the machine again. 'Damn! How long can this guy go on like this!' Raiden thought to himself. The fourth one Ocelot extended the time by 30 seconds this time. Raiden started to scream louder this time, the pain was actually starting to get to him. By the time it stopped, Raiden was barely alive.  
  
"Well, thats enough for now, I think." Ocelot said as he relased Raiden. Raiden was too weak to stand. As a result two guards had to come in and take him to his cell in the Med Room.  
  
Raiden couldn't feel his arm. His codec went off. He didn't feel like answering it, but maybe it would be good to actually talk to someone for a change. "Raiden, its me." Otacon spoke to Raiden.  
  
"What do you want!?" Raiden barely managed to shout.  
  
"Shut up in there will ya!" Johnny Susaki said as he walked around a bit. He was watching Raiden closely. Eventually he'd have to go to the bathroom. The difference was that once again thanks to Otacon's "adjustments" you had to purely rely on stealth to get you out of here...which Raiden wasn't always good at.  
  
"Listen Raiden, you're probably wondering how you got there." Otacon began.  
  
Raiden didn't want to think about it, but what the hell? "Yeah, sure fill me in on it all. There is nothing that could make this any worse than it is."  
  
"Raiden, if it weren't for Snake you probably wouldn't be there. See, he planned that one all out so that you would get captured." Otacon said.  
  
Raiden was suddenly alive with energy...sort of anyway. His arm still hurt but now he managed to come out a deep depression like voice, "This was all because of Snake?" Raiden thought about it. Yeah, Snake would. "But why?"  
  
"Listen Raiden, whatever reason Snake did this to you, I'm sure its with good reasoning."  
  
"There isn't anything good about this! I'm involved with Fox Hound now...and you say that this is GOOD!?" Raiden started to shout, the guard quieted him down again.  
  
"Why do you keep thinking like that?' Otacon asked. "Or better yet, why don't you think at all?"  
  
Raiden was silent for a moment. He'd never actually thought about it before. Whenever he did something, he just did it. The consequences didn't even matter to him. It was just how he did things. That of course, wouldn't be a good answer for Otacon. "I'm just that kind of guy. I act first and think later."  
  
Otacon sighed. "Okay smart guy! Now I want you to act on how you're going to get out of there!" Otacon sounded so serious about it. "I mean it Raiden. Tell me without thinking how you're going to get out of there."  
  
"Well, uhhh, the guard has to ummm...." He couldn't think! He coudln't think of anything! How was he going to get out of here?  
  
"Its easier than you think Raiden. You just have to actually think."  
  
Raiden was then fed up with this shit. "How can you be friends with Snake? After everything he keeps doing to me!?"  
  
Otacon didn't waste time. He knew eventually that Raiden would ask. "I'm like Snake's right hand man. He has a lot of the brawns, and I have the brains. I know this concept called 'thinking' is new to you so I'll try to go as slow as possible." Otacon said. Raiden didn't say anything to the comment. "OK, this is how it goes Raiden. When was the last time you actually saw Snake hack out a code? Never right? Thats because he has me to do it for him. When was the last time you saw me run into a battle with a gun blazing? Or the last time you ever saw me kill a guy? Never. Raiden, Snake may be the ultimate soilder; but believe it or not, if we put my brains and his brawn together, WE'RE the ones that create the ultimate soilder!"  
  
"Does that mean that all the tricks Snake have played on me have been masterminded by you?"  
  
"No, Snake did all that on his own. I don't need to tell Snake how to fight. Snake just knows what to expect on the battlefield. I can't tell him that. Just like Snake can't tell me what to expect from all the hacking I do. What are you good at Raiden?"  
  
Raiden had never been asked such a question before. What WAS he good at? He didn't know for sure. He never even tried anything but the stealth missions. "I don't know exactly." He felt like an idiot saying all this to Otacon.  
  
"You have to be good at something Raiden. Its like Mei Ling always says, 'everyone has promise'. You have to be good at something Raiden."  
  
But it was true. Raiden had only known one thing. How to kill. He was actually pretty good at it....but he needed something more than that. He needed to be good at something. He then dismissed it completely. "I'll find something later. I need to get out of here!"  
  
"You need some help?' Asked Otacon.  
  
"Yeah, sure." Raiden said.  
  
"Alright then, but you tell Snake that I got you out of here and I'll kill you in the real world!" Otacon said jokingly. "The guard has to go to the bathroom eventually. When he does I want you to hide under the bed ok?"  
  
"Got it." Raiden said.  
  
"One more thing."  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"You might want to check the DARPA chiefs body for a nice gift." Otacon said. Then he cut the codec.  
  
Raiden made his way to the DARPA chief and began to search the maggoty corpse.  
  
When Johnny witnessed this he screamed. "Thats so goddamn gross man! You sick bastard!" He felt like having to throw up now. "OOOOOOOO my stomach!" He screamed and then ran off.  
  
Just as he had done so, Raiden pulled a level 7 keycard out of the DARPA chiefs pocket. PERFECT! Raiden watched Johnny run into the bathroom. Now that Johnny was um...."evacuating" Raiden decided to crawl under the bed.  
  
Raiden was there for a good 20 minutes before he finally heard the flushing. He heard Johnny coming back. "Now I feel much better! I just wish I hadn't tossed AND released my lunch!" He said walking back. He looked in the cell but didn't notice that Raiden was gone. He then fell asleep! How much longer was Raiden going to be under there? He waited as the guard slept for about another 30 mins. When Johnny finally awoke, he STILL hadn't noticed Raiden missing. "Man, I gotta shit again!" He said as he walked to the bathroom.  
  
Raiden climbed out from under. "This is pointless! I thought the AI was at eight?" He then ran and jumped at the glass. "Maybe I can break it!" It was no go. He smacked into it and just fell to the ground. He was stunned for a bit, but he didn't bother to get up.  
  
Johnny came back, and even though Raiden was right up against the wall, NOW he didn't see Raiden. "What the hell?" As Johnny ran on the other side of the wall, Raiden had to run along side him or else he'd be discovered. By the time Johnny had gotten to the door and opened it Raiden was there. Johnny swiftly swung his FAMAS at Raiden. He nearly knocked him out! Raiden fell back into the cell and the door was closed.  
  
He called up Otacon, "Not the best...but what would you expect?"  
  
Otacon was laughing for the moment. "It almost worked. I'm surprised. I'm just shocked that he thought you were gone when you were right in front of him!"  
  
Raiden cut him off, and then went back to thinking of how to get out of there. "Its time kid," Johnny said. "Ocelot wants you."  
  
***  
  
Snake was still waiting in the Comm. Tower A. He was smoking a cigerette, waiting for a chance to move. He was still thinking about heading back to the armory but he wasn't in a rush. The Blast Furnace would have a lot of stuff. But he decided that he should go back anyway. Raiden could easily get lots of ammo now. He was only in the Tank Hanger after all.  
  
Snake got up, only to receive a call. "This is Snake." He said.  
  
"Its Mei Ling. I looked for Raidens records."  
  
"What did you find out?"  
  
"Snake, there are NO records of Raiden ever taking the VR simulation of Shadow Moses."  
  
"There has to be something! If he really did take the simulation then he should have records!"  
  
"Snake," Mei Ling said softly. "I don't think he ever took the simulation. If he did, then there would be records here."  
  
"Keep searching!" Snake ordered. "I know there has to be something in the files." He said and then cut her out. Snake knew that if Raiden had truthfully taken the simulation of Shadow Moses, then he had results.  
  
His codec went off again. "Yeah?"  
  
"Snake I've got something!" Mei Ling shouted in excitement.  
  
"What have you got?" Snake asked eagerly.  
  
"You're not going to like this. According to this record he NEVER finished the simulation, and he was spotted 971 times! He used a lot more rations than anybody ever has, he didn't kill ANYONE! Snake, according to the record he barely got to the Nuke Building!" Mei Ling had said.  
  
TO BE CONTINUED....  
  
A/N: OK, Raiden has to eventually get out of there so...that'll probably happen sometime in the next chapter. This chapter was a little slow and boring, I know, but I wanted to focus more on the characters for once. Also, I'm out of school...so umm the next about...four chapters are already typed up...but I wanna know what you think first! 


	6. The Snake in the Grass

A/N: Anyways, back on track. This chapter will try to focus a little bit less on the characters and more on the competition at hand. Again (and I'm gonna keep saying it) Spoilers to both MGS games.  
  
Disclaimer: Nothing has changed since the LAST disclaimer!  
  
CHAPTER 6-THE SNAKE IN THE GRASS  
  
Raiden had just been tossed in the Med. room once again. This time Ocelot had turned the power up and did it five times instead of four. Raiden was in a lot of pain now. But he still didn't want the game to end here. 'Gotta get ot of here!' He thought. It really wasn't as simple as Snake made it sound. He put his hand on his ear and called up Otacon. "What do I do?"  
  
On the other end, Otacon could be heard guzzling down a soda, and Raiden was a little irritated by that. "OK, so you didn't fool the guard by crawling under the bed right?"  
  
"Yeah, we've established that." Raiden grunted. He was still in pain. Johnny once again banged on the med room windows telling him to shut up. This made Raiden speak a little softer then he once did.  
  
Otacon continued. "You could always try and fake a big stomach ache. Of course since you were just tortured it probably wouldn't work. I can see what I can do though."  
  
"What are you talking about?"  
  
***  
  
As Otacon talked on his codec, he was getting ready to go into VR to help Raiden out. Snake was right though, Raiden was a rookie. Especially if he was still stuck in the med room.  
  
As Otacon was about to put on the helmet the Colonel stopped him. "We can't do that Hal."  
  
Otacon looked at Roy for a moment. "Why can't we?" Raiden could be heard asking "What? Why can't we what?' several times.  
  
"Hal, we have to let Raiden and Snake do this, the only way you can interfere is by using the codec, but not under any circumstances will I let you go into the VR realm to help either of them!" He said to Otacon. He made a real serious face. He grabbed Otacon and dragged him back to the monitoring room. "We can only watch from here. You want to help Raiden? Then give him specific instructions on what to do."  
  
***  
  
"What can't we do!?" Raiden screemed.  
  
"Alright thats it your pissing me off!" Johnny said as he marched over to the cell and opened the door. "Come here you bastard!" What the hell? Johnny couldn't kill Raiden, that would be against orders, but he could still beat the shit out of him if he needed to. Johnny closed the door behind him.  
  
"Raiden. You need to take him out!" Otacon said over the codec. "You don't have any other choice but to take him out!"  
  
Raiden walked up to Johnny with his hands raised, as he cut Otacon out on the codec. "Listen, I don't want any trouble from-" SMACK! Johnny smacked him with his FAMAS. Obviously Raiden couldn't talk his way out of it. Did he really expect to?  
  
Raiden didn't take too much before he finally did a torso-axial forward and smacked Johnny. Johnny didn't go unconcious at all, but he was knocked off his feet for a moment. During this time Raiden tried to open the cell door, but it was still locked.  
  
"You didn't think that I'd leave it unlocked did you?" Johnny said as he started to smile a little bit. He smacked Raiden again. This time Raiden went to the ground. Johnny stood over him with his FAMAS pointed straight at Raiden's head. At that point in time Raiden just froze. Was this going to be the end?  
  
It would've been hadn't Johnny started to feel something in his stomach move. "OOOooooooooo!" He screamed. "My stomach! OOOOOooooooo!" He then put his hands on his ass, and opened the cell door and ran out. Lucky for Raiden, Johnny LEFT the cell door opened.  
  
Raiden could feel blood dripping down his chin from his mouth. It may not have been real life, but damn it sure hurt like it! He just walked out of the cell, with the level 7 card he got from the DARPA chief. He grabbed his sneaking suit and quickly zipped up. His suit felt a little heavier than usual. Something could be wrong, but he quickly dismissed the thought. He had to go down to the armory now, and fast.  
  
***  
  
Snake was in the armory gathering more supplies. He hadn't been there too long, but he had restocked with more grenades, chaff grenades, and now he grabbed some stun grenades. He still had his PSG-1 on him and his FAMAS. He hadn't really needed to use the FAMAS yet, and he wasn't sure if he should haul it around or not. Then he remembered the Comm. Tower. Yeah, he was definitely going to need it. He figured he'd take it with him to the communications tower. Then he'd empty the clip and leave the FAMAS on the walkway. There wasn't any need to have it. He had to think stealth- like. Everything else would be a cinch! He didn't need an assault rifle for the rest of this...not even for Mantis.  
  
Snake put everyone in the armory to sleep with the M9 he found. None of the guards had to make status reports and that was a good thing. Then, the elevator began to sound. Snake assumed that it would be Raiden. Regardless of which, Snake left himself right in the open. There was nothing that Raiden could do to him now.  
  
The doors opened and Raiden stepped out. Snake was standing right next to the elevator. With his M9 still in hand he jumped out. "Freeze!" He shouted at Raiden.  
  
Raiden put his hands in the air, looking at Snake. "Where the hell did you get that?" He said as he lowered his hands and pointed to the M9.  
  
Of course Snake wasn't going to put Raiden to sleep. He had no need to do anything to Raiden. Snake had a large arsenal of weapons now. Two Socoms, one of which was surpressed, a FAMAS, a PSG-1, leftover claymores and an M9. He also had plenty of grenades, chaff grenades, and stun grenades.  
  
"I found it like I have every other weapon." Snake said. He chuckled at the fact that Raiden had just left it in the back of a truck in the Nuke Building. Snake then felt just a bit generous. He gave his Socom, the unsurpressed one to Raiden. "Take this." He said as he pulled the clip and stashed it.  
  
"Why are you giving me this?" Raiden asked, he thought about the shock earlier. None the less he took the pistol.  
  
"I'm tired of seeing you without any arms! You need a weapon kid. But you've gotta supply your own ammo!" Snake said. He pushed the button on the elevator. It opened right away. Before Snake stepped in he said one thing, "I'm going to the snowfields just north of the communications tower. If your smart, you'll bring a weapon with long range." With that said, Snake went into the elevator, and doors closed.  
  
Raiden decided to go and get ammo for the Socom first. Perhaps there was a surpressor in the room with the Socom ammo. To Raiden's luck there was. He then put that on, and loaded up a clip. He took a practice shot at the wall to make sure that Snake hadn't fooled him again. When he was ready, he decided to find more weapons. The first weapon that came to mind was the PSG-1. He actually took in Snake's warning, and because of Otacon's "adjustmens" there weren't going to be any missile launchers for quite some time. He then made his way to the grenades. He picked up a few for his trip. Next were the stun grenades. After the stun grenades he skipped the chaff grenades. Raiden didn't like chaff grenades and he almost never realied on them. He hadn't needed them in the Big Shell or Arsenal. Though in Arsenal they may have come in handy at some point. He thought about C4. Snake had used all of his up. Or had he?  
  
After Raiden was done "shopping" he went to the elevator. It was just in time too because the guards were just now waking up. Raiden had tons of ammo now, and he was ready. Now he could truly battle Snake.  
  
***  
  
Snake went into the Communications Tower. With each couple of steps he took, he turned around a put a claymore down. He still had the claymores from the canyon with him. He saved at least two of the six he'd picked up. He would've had seven but he missed one and Raiden had walked on it anyway.  
  
After laying down four claymores, Snake walked through the door. He looked up, the same camera was there from before. He shot the camera. He wouldn't be discovered this time. The claymores were for Raiden. Snake didn't bother to grab the rope this time. He still had one C4 left. He wanted so badly to use it on Raiden, but then decided against it. He walked up the stairs of the tower until he came to about the tenth floor. That door that was once frozen over had been unfrozen as another one of Otacon's adjustments. This one Snake was thankful for. He walked through the door.  
  
Once outside, Snake took out his PSG-1. He looked through it and saw three guards at the end. He capped them off one-by-one, shooting each in the forehead. He ran down the walkway, with a grenade in hand. Snake expected the Hind to come, but since he didn't repel it could be a while. He looked around a bit, then he finally heard the sound of a chopper near. He didn't pull the pin yet, he needed the Hind to be in sight first.  
  
When Liquid finally showed himself in the Hind, and laughed like usual, Snake just didn't have time for this, "Shut up!" He shouted at Liquid, and threw a Chaff inside the Hind. Easier said than done. The Hind never even shot at Snake before the grenade finally detonated. The Hind went down once more.  
  
Snake continued on down the walkway, and then into Comm. Tower B.  
  
***  
  
Raiden stepped into Comm. Tower A. He started to run only to trip a claymore and fly back a bit. He screamed like the dickens! "GOOD GOD!" He screamed as his heart was pounding. He'd used a second ration after that one. They only got five and he was already down to three. He got up and ran forward to trip the second claymore. "BASTARD!" He said as that one blew him back. He didn't use a ration after that one. He got up and STILL ran forward only to trip the THIRD one! "What the fuck!?" Raiden screamed. He still didnt figure it out. Finally he got a call on his codec.  
  
"What kind of dumbass are you!?" It was Otacon.  
  
"What are you talking about?"  
  
"Do you know what the definition of stupidity is?" Otacon asked. It actually sounded like a serious tone.  
  
"Uhh....no." Raiden answereed sheepishly.  
  
"It means doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Though I could go back and rewrite that definition and put 'Raiden' now." Otacon said. "You've been stupidly walking into shit this whole game."  
  
"Well, I-"  
  
Otacon quickly cut him off. "Listen, there is fourth claymore in there and- "  
  
"AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!" Raiden screamed. Otacon was too late....he'd detonated the fourth one already.  
  
"Nevermind....that means you have two rations left now don' you?"  
  
"Uhhhhh....yeah." Raiden said. He felt so damn stupid. Hell, he really WAS stupid if he walked into all four mines.  
  
Raiden cut Otacon off, and pressed on. Much like Snake, he ignored the rope. He ran up the tower, until he too reached the tenth floor. Then he walked through the door. He creeped along the walkway a bit, and then sprinted. BAM! Another claymore blew only this time Raiden hadn't stepped on it. 'That was close' he thought to himself. Snake had been one tricky bastard this whole game.  
  
He ran into Comm. Tower B quickly. The only thing on his mind was Snake.  
  
***  
  
Snake was in Comm. Tower B still, but he had put himself in a cardboard box. He watched the door open and Raiden slipped in. He wanted to poke his Socom thorugh the hole and take him out now, but he stayed put. Raiden started to walk down the stairs. He completely missed Snake in the box. He still hadn't learned. As Raiden went down the stairs he wasn't thinking as usual.  
  
BAM! an explosion! Snake's last C4! PERFECT! Raiden screamed. He hadn't used that ration but he was damn well close to it. He had to be more careful. He then heard footsteps going up the stairs.  
  
Raiden ran up the stairs now instead of down. He passed by a cardboard box on his way up. He didn't know it was Snake at the time. Knowing it would be like that, Snake got out of the cardboard box, and set it down and then ran down the stairs. Raiden then heard someone going downstairs.  
  
As Raiden rushed down the stairs now he stopped at the same cardboard box that Snake had been in. This time he searched it only to find a grenade....with the pin already pulled. BAM! Another explosion sent Raiden down to his last ration, and the cardboard box in pieces. Raiden had one ration left, and Snake was still standing tall on all five! Then it dawned on Raiden. He hadn't done ANY damage to Snake this entire match. He was just too good at this!  
  
Snake ran down the stairs and threw one chaff grenade. The point where he'd blown the rest of the stairs out, he could easily jump down to be at the very bottom of Comm. Tower B. He was enjoying this. Raiden was going to fall just WAY to easily to this. When Snake went down he shot the cameras while the chaff was still around.  
  
Snake then equipped his PSG-1. He didn't have any Dizephrams but he wasn't going to need them. He lit a cigerette and went out into the Snowfields.  
  
Raiden wasn't too far behind though by now he had to be in some serious pain! Snake had completely bested him this time! It was worse than at the docks. Raiden moved rather slowly now. He was running out of breath. Snake on the other hand still had WAY more energy left. Was Snake teasing Raiden now?  
  
Raiden then saw the door. He didn't know what was ahead but he knew that Snake had to be out there waiting. Raiden opened the door to see a HUGE blanket of snow. He didn't walk out. Instead he equipped HIS PSG-1. The difference was that he was actually going to need Dizephram, in which he didn't grab. He looked through the scope of the rifle. He then loaded up the clip and step into what seemed like an endless snowfield.  
  
TO BE CONTINUED....  
  
A/N: By far this is my second favorite chapter next to "Catch Me If You Can" but hey at least now Raiden actually has a damn weapon to battle Snake with... oh well...the next chapter WON'T be the battle in the snowfield but rather what's going on at HQ for a moment. 


	7. Need Some Popcorn

A/N: Ummmm sorry guys but it looks like I won't get Psycho Mantis in the story....because with how's its turning out so far. However, if the reviews are good enough I WILL make a sequal to this story and Mantis will be in that one I promise! I like Mantis too...my favorite boss in MGS actually. Again, sorry. Oh, and this chapter ONLY features the characters who aren't currently in the VR (so no Snake or Raiden), but I felt that we had to know what was going on. Oh, and this chapter doesn't really need to be read to enjoy the rest of the story...I just wanted people to see what the non-VR characters were doing (thats why 7+8 were posted at the same time) so if you want to you can skip this chapter.  
  
Disclaimer:......Ya know I'm gonna shut up with these starting now  
  
CHAPTER 7-NEED SOME POPCORN....  
  
Campbell, had been watching it all so far. It was brilliant...just brilliant! Though Raiden was down to his last ration it was amazing how it turned out! "You owe me fifty dollars now Mei Ling, its over now that its in the snowfield...its over come on pay up!" He said.  
  
Mei Ling looked at him strangely. "I thought that was just a joke? You know like the little fight over the million dollars that one time."  
  
Campbell had completely forgotten about that. A million-dollar bet was placed on a game of HORSE that Campbell had won. "Oh yeah you owe me that too." Wasn't good to remind him of that.  
  
"Hey, Mei Ling could you make some more popcorn? I'm running out and I don't wanna miss this!" Otacon said as he continued to drink his soda.  
  
"Make your own popcorn...-"  
  
"Mei Ling make some popcorn! Thats an order!" said Campbell.  
  
"Make him do it!" She said pointing at Otacon.  
  
"Make some popcorn or your fired!" Campbell said. They did this all in joking voices of course.  
  
Otacon then threw the bowl at Campbell, "I think its your turn actually."  
  
Campbell took the bowl and looked inside. A few seeds were left. "Thats it Hal your fired!"  
  
"Ummm....I don't even work for you!" Otacon said. Well, it wasn't true but waiting for Raiden to die suddenly got boring.  
  
"Okay, Hal your hired....." he waited about ten seconds, "your fired! Now make the popcorn!"  
  
They all started to argue about who would make the popcorn now. They'd almost forgotten about Raiden and Snake. Finally, Mei Ling came up with an idea. "Why don't we all three go make the damn popcorn?"  
  
Campbell, who now had his hand in a fist and was reared back ready to smack the shit out of Otacon suddenly replied, "Hey thats the best damn thing I've heard all day!" Of course Campbell stayed a bit before Mei Ling had to pull him along.  
  
After they made popcorn, Otacon started to run low on sodas. "Hey Mei Ling, go get us some more sodas!"  
  
"NO! Do it yourself!"  
  
Campbell stood up, "I'll do it! Raiden is being a stupid little bitch again." As they all looked at the monitor Raiden was being taken back to the Heliport in a cardboard box. "Besides, I've been holding it long enough."  
  
"Oh you have to evacuate again?" Mei Ling asked.  
  
"I prefer to call it 'releasing my spiritual energy'." Campbell said.  
  
"I call it a greeting." Otacon said, remembering the time he had first meant Snake, and then gave him that soaked in urine Level 4 Keycard. Precious memories.  
  
Since it was clear that because of Raiden's stupidity they could all take a little break now. Otacon decided to make adjustments on the Tanker and Big Shell VR missions. If all went well, perhaps there could be another VR battle in one of the two missions.  
  
After Campbell....umm..."relaesed his spiritual energy" he came back and saw that Otacon was making a few minor adjustments. "What are you doing?"  
  
Otacon looked up for a moment. "Well, I was thinking. What would it have been like if the members of Fox-Hound were on the Tanker or the Big Shell. You ever wonder what that would be like?"  
  
"I don't know what the hell you're talking about." Campbell had said. Otacon forgot that the Campbell that was there was nothing more than a mere AI.  
  
"Raiden or Snake didn't tell you about the Big Shell?" Otacon asked. Campbell shook his head. Otacon found that amusing.  
  
Mei Ling came back with the sodas, and had a file in her hand. "Colonel, I think you should look at this." He handed Campbell a manilla folder.  
  
Campbell opened the folder. They were the results of Raiden's Shadow Moses VR training. Well, what he did anyway. "How do you get spotted 971 times and only make it to the Nuke Building!?" Campbell said, he was starting to laugh at this. "He's TERRIBLE.!"  
  
"Its worse than that." Mei Ling said as he pointed to the numbre of kills. It said right there, zero. "Now if your spotted 971 times and you don't get a single kill...then I thats pathetic."  
  
"I still feel sorry for Snake," Otacon said. He meant it too. "Raiden shouldn't talk so much shit if he can't live up to it." He was still making adjustments as Mei Ling handed him a soda.  
  
"How about a tip for being your waitress?" Mei Ling asked jokingly.  
  
"Here's a tip: stop bothering me while I make my adjustments." He replied. He was still thinking of whether he should put unit Fox-Hound on the Tanker or not. Damm! This was a hard decision. He then stopped. "I think Raiden may actually be close to getting back to the snowfield now."  
  
They all three looked at the monitor. Snake smoked a cigerette for a while. In fact, he could probably go thorugh a whole pack before Raiden got back. They turned their attention to Raiden's monitor, he looked awful! "This is pathetic! Can we shock him to death? PLEASE!?" Otacon begged Campbell, but he declined.  
  
"He's not gonna make it." Mei Ling said very seriously.  
  
"No...probably not...well not at this rate. Snake is still in perfect health." Campbell commented. He was right. Raiden hadn't even TOUCHED Snake the entire time.  
  
Campbell kept looking over Raiden's files. The kid wasn't made for stealth at all. Looking at the records, it was an amazement to believe that Raiden had even survived the Big Shell at all. He flipped the page to reveal his Tanker mission rankings. He didn't even bother with those. The fact that he couldn't even finish Shadow Moses disgusted him!  
  
When they all looked up again, Raiden was actually back in Comm. Tower B. They all stopped what they were doing and gathered around. "Now its time for Snake to go for the kill." Campbell muttered under his breath.  
  
TO BE CONTINUED...  
  
A/N: No that chapter had no meaning WHATSOEVER, but I did need everyone to see what they were doing and how they watched them (but you could've guessed that) and I just felt that it would be better if I included more of these three than just on the codec. Anyways R+R cuz Chapter 8 is coming up real fast! 


	8. Battle in the Snowfield

A/N: Another apology to the Raven fans. So far I don't think we'll see another appearance by Raven, but I assure you that we haven't seen the last of Liquid and Ocelot. Sniper Wolfe will also be back....just not here in this chapter. I want to focus more on the battle in this chapter as well as chapter 9, thats why I decided not to put as much more of Fox-Hound in there. However, if the reviews are good enough I'll make a sequal and put Fox-Hound in it.  
  
CHAPTER 8-BATTLE IN THE SNOWFIELD  
  
Raiden had finally mad it back to the snowfield. Snake was out there, and he could feel his presence ever so close. Raiden breathed slowly, as he held his position behind a tree in the field. He quickly moved behind a truck, not jumping and hiding in a cardboard box this time.  
  
A red LAM was near, POP! A bullet barely missed him. Snake was a good shot, even without the Dizephram. But that was just a warning shot. Snake was nowhere in sight.  
  
Raiden looked through the scope. He veered to the right just a little bit, and found him! He was reloading...and running! Raiden was so nervous, his hands so shaky that when he pulled the trigger with Snake in the cross hairs, he completely missed. In fact, the only danger that Snake had was to keep moving at this point.  
  
Snake had just reloaded, and stood behind a tree. He reloaded rather quickly, making it a lot easier. He rested his belly on the snow, and looked through the scope. Raiden had actually moved! Snake quickly got up, and ran to the western side. If Raiden had moved, he'd have surely gone to the east. Snake quickly dashed across the field. POP! a bullet flew right by his ear! Either that was a lucky shot, or Raiden actually postioned himself good. No, it was a lucky shot. If Raiden really had positioned himself, that bullet would've hit for sure. Snake hid behind a tree in the Northwest of the field. He put a cigerette in his mouth. AHA! THAT WAS HIS SECRET! The cigerette actually HELPED Snake aim much better. Snake lined Raiden up, and pulled the trigger. POP! Right in his leg. He watched as Raiden whinced in pain and then hopped around on one foot for a moment.  
  
Snake then darted from his position. 'Keep moving' he told himself. Raiden had began to move too. Snake wasn't looking and so Raiden hid in another position. Snake finally stopped in the middle. He hid behind yet another tree. That was his only protection. He didn't have to reload yet, but he was pretty sure Raiden had to. He had counted the kids shots.  
  
Snake looked through his scope, around where Raiden once was. He'd actually been moving around the battle field. For once Snake couldn't find him! 'Dammit!' he thought. He couldn't loose his cool now! That would've been bad. Snake then started to dash further east. He HAD to keep moving. If he stopped that meant that he left himself more open. "Argh!" He screamed. A sharp pain hit him in his right arm. Raiden actually HIT Snake! "Where is he!?" Snake shouted, as he kept moving through the fields. He lifted his rifle and looked through the scope. He still kept running. Then he ducked in the fields where he'd be safe...and could still see. Finally he spotted him! Raiden was under the truck! For the first time Raiden had actually done something......GOOD! Maybe even 1% smart. The problem was he'd been stupid enough to stay there.  
  
Raiden looked through the scope, as Snake's LAM shined right in his eye. He yelped and then was shot in the arm. "Damn!" He shouted and quickly crawled from under the truck. Raiden didn't have NEARLY as many trees as Snake did....all he had was the truck. For a quick moment Raiden jumped in the truck. He searched just a little bit until he actually found a ration! Just what he needed! Now he had two again.  
  
Raiden jumped out from the truck. He quickly galloped to the the west side. "Gotta keep up with Snake!" he exclaimed to himself. There was no way he'd let Snake get away now. Not when he was so close to him....WITH a weapon this time. He wanted to take him on with a standard weapon. But that couldn't happen.  
  
He made his way to the west side. Raiden looked through his scope. Snake was nowhere now! "Dammit! Where is he!" Raiden shouted. He ran to the east side. He KNEW Snake was on the west. Finally a bullet hit him in his right arm. Raiden screamed in agony as that ration he just grabbed was now used.  
  
Raiden stopped and looked through his scope. He then decided to look up a little. Snake had climbed one of the trees! He was sitting at the top of a tree!  
  
Snake dropped from the tree, knowing Raiden had seen him. He barely landed on his feet. This was actually a rush for him. He hadn't felt so alive with the feel of battle this entire simulation. He quickly dashed to the west, as Raiden dashed to the east.  
  
They each, almost instantly pulled out their rifles and locked on to each other without even thinking! Raiden gasped, but Snake pulled the trigger! "Can't hesitate on the battle field kid." Snake said to himself in a low voice.  
  
Raiden was hit once again only this time in the side. But the bullet only grazed him. Did Snake mean for that to happen? He didn't take too much damage from that, but he couldn't stand around and think about it. Raiden pointed his gun, and instantly saw Snake. But when he pulled the trigger he only heard a click. Damn! He was out of ammo and had to reload. The only safe place to do it was the back of the truck. No time though. He reloaded as he ran.  
  
Raiden had heard another shot, and it barely missed his foot. Something was wrong. Raiden actually noticed it for once.  
  
He stopped. "Wait a minute!" He said as he stupidly stopped in the field. Something really WAS wrong. Snake hadn't taken any shots that could seriously injure him. He then realized that he was just standing there and ran.  
  
Snake let Raiden run, and then he called him on his codec. "This is getting boring kid! Meet me inside! Its a door just north." Snake said and then cut him out.  
  
Raiden thought he was fooling but when he looked through his scope....nothing was there. Snake had really been telling the truth? Raiden advanced north. Raiden finally put something together for once in his pathetic life. Snake was only having fun with him for now. In the snowfield, Snake hadn't meant to kill him there....  
  
TO BE CONTINUED....  
  
A/N This was interesting huh? Well sorta.... This was a pretty short chapter though compared to the other stuff I wrote. We probably already know who's gonna win though....by now you shoul've figured it out (hell, it was easy by the second chapter). Though, Raven won't be in the final scene...sorry guys. 


	9. Battle in the Blast Furnace

A/N-OK, .Raven WILL NOT appear once again, but Snake is still having fun with Raiden. Hope you all liked that last chapter. This one I hope is good....again, spoilers (possibly I'm not sure in this chapter). Oh, and apparently Raiden will REALLY get the shit kicked out of him in this chapter...really  
  
CHAPTER 9-BATTLE IN THE BLAST FURNACE  
  
Raiden went into the Blast furnace as instructed. He only had one ration left. He couldn't possibly expect to take Snake on. Why didn't he just give up now? He stopped as his codec rang. "Yeah!" He said so nervously. He was really nervous. Snake was probably setting him up. He wasn't sure.  
  
"Where are you kid? I've taken out the guards so that we can battle this one out!" It was Snake. He wanted Raiden now. He couldn't wait to kill Raiden. Now he was just torturing him. To Raiden, it was worse than Ocelot. "You still think your age is gonna save you kid? Do you! Come on, don't leave me waiting your supposed to be younger than me!" He then cut off.  
  
Raiden put away his PSG-1, and got out his Socom. Was that the right thing to do? He wasn't sure. He slowly walked down the stairs. God he was so damn nervous. He was shivering and shaking so much that it made Anartica seem warm! Could he really bring himself to do this? He took another step forward. He was so nervous he didn't want to think. He got another call.  
  
"Kid! I think I'm living my fourth life now waiting for you! Are you coming? Or are you going to chicken out now?" Snake said.  
  
"No, I'm not gonna give up now! I've come too far now!" He said. He then cut Snake off, and continued to walk slowly. Another five minutes passed and he got another call. He answered still.  
  
On the other end came out a yawn and then it cut off. Raiden was now starting to get mad. He picked up his Socom and ran down the stairs now. He opened the door. BAM! POW! A claymore!? Snake wasn't out of those just yet. He tripped a claymore AND was shot at. Snake was ready for him! Raiden saw an elevator and ran over, but it was already below him. Snake must've taken it!  
  
Raiden was lucky he had a crate there. He hadn't used his last ration yet, but that Claymore was too close. No, the claymore didn't damage him THAT much. But out of this entire game he'd only gotten one hit on Snake. Snake was always one step ahead of him. How did he do it?  
  
He couldn't see Snake at all. The good news was that there was no possible way Snake could be DIRECTLY below him Could he?  
  
Snake tossed a grenade on the upper level. Raiden quickly ran to the end, but he stayed low. The grenade exploded and Raiden was unharmed...but Snake quickly tossed a stun grenade, and followed it up with a regular grenade! Raiden was blinded for about five seconds as the grenade went off and caught him in the blast! 'DAMN!' He thought to himself. Snake was now playing dirty. Raiden tossed down three grenades. He wasn't sure where the hell Snake was. Raiden tossed grenades to the lower level like a madman.  
  
When one went off he heard a grunt. He was pretty sure that was Snake, but he still didn't know where he was! Snake could've been anywhere! Raiden then heard an assault rifle go off! He panicked and ducked behind the crate. Snake was shooting the FAMAS now. 'Shit!' Raiden thought. He then looked through the floor. He could now see Snake! He was on the lower level alright! Raiden couldn't stay there, but he didn't want to risk his chances either. Snake was in complete range now.  
  
Snake quickly ran into the steam room. Raiden, now fed up with some of the crap, went down the elevator shaft. Granted the elevator was already on the lower level, but it wasn't much of a drop.  
  
Once Raiden landed, he walked into the steam room. He once again walked right past Snake. Snake then walked out, and smacked Raiden with his FAMAS. Raiden went to the ground, and then Snake placed his foot on him. Was this finally it? Was Snake going to finish Raiden now?  
  
He lifted his foot and brought it down on Raiden HARD! He stomped on Raiden four or five times. It was pure torture! This was fucking worse than Ocelot in Raiden's mind, but Snake had no remorse. He then picke up Raiden by his back and elbowed him in the face. He could see Raiden's nose start to bleed now. It was then Snake pulled out....a Hankerchief? He gave it to Raiden. "Here, wipe your nose."  
  
After Raiden had wiped his nose and it stopped bleeding, Snake elbowed him there once more, making it bleed again!  
  
Raiden then lunged on Snake. Regardless of their equipment. The pipes blew steam and lots of it. It was so hot in the room that even hell would freeze over! Raiden had actually tackled Snake to the ground. When he finally lined up for a punch, steam blew right in his face! It burned his eyes, and gave Snake the advantage! He kicked Raiden off instantly.  
  
Raiden landed on his back, and cleared his eyes a bit. He looked at Snake, who had now grabbed his head and smashed it into a pipe! "Come on you bastard! Your young you can take it right!?" He reared Raiden's head back and smashed it into a pipe again. "COME ON!"  
  
Raiden finally got free of his grip, but as he did so Snake did a punch, punch, kick combo on Raiden. Raiden flew back and hit his head on a pipe. Raiden got up. His head was spinning. Not just his head but the room was spinning. He almost swore he saw two Snakes charging at him. Raiden quickly dodged Snake's bum rush. Once Raiden did, he did a bum rush of his own. Raiden flew at Snake like a battering ram! As Raiden came flying, Snake rolled at him and knocked him off his feet! Raiden had now used his last ration! Snake was enjoying this.  
  
Snake then left the steam room, and Raiden followed. He jumped on Snake's back, and punded his head like a little kid. Snake threw him off, and then dropped two rations. "Take 'em" He said to Raiden, and then he spit on him! "I'm not finished with you yet!" Snake then walked through the doors to the cargo elevators.  
  
Raiden's face was bright red now. His nose was bleeding, and blood was all over his sneaking suit. "Why won't he kill me?" He managed to say. He was in terrible pain. He wanted to chase after Snake, but he couldn't do that. It hurt MORE to think now than before. He took the two rations that Snake had given him. He was trying to think of what Snake would pull next.  
  
Snake's words played in Raiden's head over and over again: "I'm not finished with you yet!"  
  
TO BE CONTINUED....  
  
A/N Not bad huh? Raiden is in too severe of shape...but he feels he can still take on the legend. Well, please R+R! The story goes on! More reviews encourage me to go on! 


	10. Everyone Has Promise

A/N: Again, no Raven or Psycho Mantis...but so far I have been inspired a sequal....But I'll see how the rest goes. If you do want a sequal then tell me in a review and tell me what you want from it. I will do my best to put Fox-Hound in there. Also, this chapter also takes a break from all the action for a moment and we have another chapter that focus' a bit on the past...but this chapter is VERY VERY important. Sorry if this ones bores some of you.  
  
CHAPTER 10-EVERYBODY HAS PROMISE  
  
Raiden had just stepped into the Cargo Elevator area. The elevator was just now slowly returning. On there were three guards sleeping away. It didn't look as though they'd wake up anytime soon, but Raiden wasn't too sure. As a precaution he shot each guard in both arms...they'd eventually die but at least it would be slowly.  
  
Raiden got onto the elevator and pushed the button to go down. As he descended in the elevator the temperature began to drop. It was getting colder and colder. Raiden could now see his breath.  
  
There was no way that he was cut out for this! Snake was THE legend and he was THE Big Boss. "Why did I challenge him?' Raiden thought. He was now having lots of second thoughts on the whole thing. He wanted out now, but what was done was done. He was here, he was up against the Big Boss now. A call then came on his codec.  
  
"So you're a fake or something?" It was Mei Ling on the codec. She sounded so unsure of Raiden now. "You told me you took the Shadow Moses simulation! You told me your ratings were good! You assured me you could do it!"  
  
Raiden seemed shocked. "I did take the simulation."  
  
Mei Ling bursted out now. "You told me you FINISHED it! I'm holding your records right now Raiden!"  
  
Raiden was silent for a moment. He thought that he got rid of the records of Shadow Moses. "How did you find those?"  
  
"Its VR Raiden, there are always ways to recover lost records. You never finished the simulation....why?"  
  
Raiden was silent. He didn't know what to say to that. "Alright I'll admit it! I wasn't any good at the Shadow Moses simulation. I got to the nuke building and gave up! I never even had to face the tank. I'm no good Mei Ling...Shadow Moses was so much more threatening than the Big Shell was."  
  
Mei Ling was breathing softly on the other end trying to hold back anger. "Tell me one thing. Did you lie about the Big Shell too? I want to know." She didn't think Raiden would tell the truth anyway.  
  
Raiden sighed a bit. "Otacon was right about everything. Snake had to bail me out of most of the trouble I got into. The harrier, guiding Emma, everything Otacon said was true. I took on all those RAYS and that was all I did without Snake. And then there was Solidus."  
  
Mei Ling was silent for a moment in time. "Now just out of curiosity...how did you get spotted 971 times and not kill anyone? And how did you use over 300 rations?"  
  
Raiden totally forgot about the rations. He couldn't even recall how he got all of them. "Well, I always got spotted because I liked the action and the intensity of it all, I didn't know it got that high actually. And the rations? Well, when your spotted so much your bound to use a lot of rations."  
  
Mei Ling was a little shocked. She looked over the records. Raiden was pathetic. The AI was set on 2 when Raiden took the simulation. "Then how did you go through without killing anyone?"  
  
"I did kill people. The records never recorded it. Everytime I was spotted I killed people. I don't know why the records never got it." He lied again. He was just ashamed to admit that he was scared to kill. "Mei Ling, the simulation was three or four years ago, it doesn't matter anymore."  
  
Mei Ling sighed. Then she went silent for a moment. "It does matter Raiden. I'm not sure if you're cut out to be with Fox Hound."  
  
Raiden was hurt to hear that. "I did do good at the Big Shell, just ask Snake, I actually did do good there. I was able to get through most of it without him none the less." When Raiden was done, Mei Ling agreed to call Snake about it.  
  
"You better hope that Snake can save your ass, because the Colonel is very upset about it. Hopefully Snake can come thorugh for you." Mei Ling said and then cut out.  
  
Raiden was in a quite a pickle now. 'I can't leave Fox-Hound now!' He thought. But Snake, come through for HIM? Yeah right, as if that would ever happen. The cargo elevator came to a stop and Raiden stepped off. He decided that now was probably a good time to rest. "I need a break." He said aloud. His sneaking suit was covered in blood, and his face still had a bit of blood on it. He still had some energy left. Snake had felt so sorry for him that he gave Raiden two rations. "Snake has no faith in me." Raiden sighed heavily. "He's playing with me, this isn't a game! This a three ring circus!" He then rested just a bit.  
  
***  
  
Snake was down the other cargo elevator. It took a while so he needed to send it back up for Raiden. That would take about five minutes. And for Raiden to get down here, all together it would take ten minutes. To pass the time Snake decided he needed a smoke. Before he could take out his cigs his codec rang. "Damn!"  
  
It was Mei Ling to Snake now. "Don't you cigerettes are bad for your health?" She joked. She knew that it couldn't harm Snake in VR. "I called to ask you about Raiden."  
  
It was then that the Colonel switched the monitors on and he and Otacon joined in the conversation. "Snake, don't worry Raiden doesn't know. He seems to be taking a break. So should you." Campbell said.  
  
"Snake, about Raiden. He says he actually did pretty good in the Big Shell." Mei Ling said. "Is that true? Or is he lying once again?"  
  
Snake took a puff of his cigerette. "Did good huh? I'll give him credit for the RAYS and I'll give him credit for the work he did on the harrier. But overall he did OK. Well, he did pretty good for a rookie. But he definitely isn't cut out for this."  
  
"Then that settles it now. Snake, we have to remove Raiden from the VR. There's no question about it. If you say he isn't cut out for this, then we have to cut HIM out." Campbell said very sternly.  
  
"I'm going to have to agree with the Colonel. If Raiden isn't cut out for this, then he has no business being in Fox-Hound." Mei Ling said.  
  
Otacon was silent, "Its your call Snake. We're about to remove Raiden. Unless you say so otherwise."  
  
"No use to Fox-Hound?" Snake said as he flicked his cig away. "He has plenty of use. I only gave into his challenge because I wanted to turn him into a soilder!" Snake said. He was actually DEFENDING Raiden.  
  
"Snake, we're about to pull the plug on Raiden, what's your verdict?" Mei Ling inquired sternly and quickly.  
  
"Snake, he can't do this and you know it! We have to pull the plug. There isn't anything else we can do. If he isn't cut out for this as you say, then we have to kick him out of Fox-Hound." Campbell said.  
  
"I can pull the switch any minute Snake!" Mei Ling exclaimed.  
  
"WAIT!" Snake shouted.  
  
In HQ they all jumped a bit at Snake's command. "Mei Ling, you said that everyone has promise right? Well, even Raiden has some promise! And you know what else? I'm gonna help him find his promise! He may be a rookie, but the Big Shell was a success! Thats why I recruited him. If you cut Raiden out now, he'll never learn. Give me a few more hours and the simulation will be done with, over."  
  
Mei Ling was about to pull the plug on Raiden, when she finaly realized that Snake was right. "I did say that everyone has promise, and I do believe Raiden has some as well." Mei Ling said calmly. "But you said that he wasn't a soilder Snake. Fox-Hound was made to recruit soilders Snake. If Raiden isn't a soilder then how can he be Fox-Hound material."  
  
"Mei Ling, you have faith in Raiden, I know you do." Otacon butt in. "But what Snake is trying to say is that there is still a chance to make Raiden a soilder. Thats what Snake is trying to do. You say Raiden has promise but you don't seem to show it that much."  
  
"I've showed it a lot, but Snake is right Hal. He isn't cut out to be a soilder."  
  
"Mei Ling, I'll work on the damn kid. I promise you that! He's never been this deep into Shadow Moses before. He wasn't THAT bad at the big shell. Like I said, for a rookie he did pretty damn good. He just needed help. I'm working on him now...he's just difficult. Don't cut him out now!" Snake said.  
  
"Why are you doing this Snake? Why don't you just spare him now?" Campbell said. It was so pathetic that Campbell wanted so badly to cut Raiden out.  
  
"Well, for starters there's my entertainment for one thing. Plus, Raiden can do this. He just needs to start thinking."  
  
"So you don't want to cut him out then?" Mei Ling said.  
  
Snake grinned, and even though they couldn't fully see it, Snake finally said: "Everyone has promise."  
  
TO BE CONTINUED.....  
  
A/N: Okay that last chapter was a little boring but it truly was one of the most important ones so far. Now I hate to say it, but its about time I make Raiden actually DO something. After all, its called "Raiden vs. Snake" so I feel that eventually Raiden does have to do something. Liquid and Ocelot will come into play within the next two chapters. Please R+R chapter 11 and 12 up soon. 


	11. Battle in the Warehouse

A/N: Getting kinda mixed reviews lately, but well its my story not yours, and I write it. But anyways...as it turns out this story is longer than I expected (don't know if thats good or bad but so far its good) but I can still do a lot more! But anyways, this chapter gets back to the action a little bit. Oh and sorry the update took so long my computer was so screwed up it wasn't even funny! ALWAYS save to a disk.....  
  
CHAPTER 11-BATTLE IN THE WAREHOUSE  
  
Raiden had gotten up from his rest now. He didn't have much strength to go on. But now he had a chance to prove himself. The monitors were switched back off, but he didn't hear the conversation anyway. He was so tired now. But he'd gotten this far hadn't he? There was still chance. Snake gave him two rations, he just had to play smart now.  
  
As Raiden approached the second elevator a call came in. "Be careful, there are claymore mines aroung there."  
  
"Who is this?" Raiden said with a hint of deja vu in his voice. It was almost like the big shell, but this obviously wasn't Olga this time. There was no answer, instead the transmission was cut. Raiden got down and crawled around for claymores. It would be harder since he didn't have a mine detector or thermal goggles.  
  
There were about six claymores, and Raiden was able to grab them all. He then got into the elevator and went down.  
  
***  
  
Snake was waiting for Raiden. Snake had grabbed the C4 lying around. Still no missiles because of what Otacon had done. In fact, you never got Nikitas and you didn't get Stingers until you actually got to REX. That was a little disappointing to Snake. He was hoping to get some stingers and blow Raiden away. Looks like he'd have to wait. He grabbed the C4, and there was that last ration. He decided to leave it for Raiden. Snake wanted a fair fight this time. He wanted Raiden to put up a fight. The Snowfields was close, he'd at least gotten some shots off. But the Blast Furnace was pathetic! Even for Raiden that was pretty damn bad. Raiden could've at least gotten up instead of staying on his back.  
  
In the Warehouse, it was clear they were early or something. Raven wasn't there, or he was killed in the M1 tank or something. Raven was no where to be found. Snake had no claymores left, but he now had four C4 in his stash. He didn't want to use all of it here. He walked to the back. He needed to hide from Raiden.  
  
***  
  
Raiden made his way down to the warehouse. He gave a sigh, before he looked around. He found the rations, but everything else was gone. Snake was obviously here.  
  
Raiden walked into the warehouse. It was so quiet. Raiden had almost forgotten about his Radar. He looked on it, but Snake wasn't in range. He was probably at the far end. Raiden peaked around the corner. If there was one thing he actually LEARNED from this, it was that Snake could be around any corner. He didn't see Snake anywhere, but he could sense his presence. He put down a claymore in the southeastern corner of the room. Snake didn't see this. He quickly ran to the southwestern end, looked around and then put a claymore there as well. "Come on out Snake!" Raiden shouted.  
  
Snake came out of hiding just as Raiden shouted. Snake was at the far north end, and Raiden at the far south end. They both stood in front of the doors and glared at each other. Snake pulled out his Socom and fired off a shot. It barely missed Raiden. Raiden ducked out of the way, and Snake ran to his left.  
  
Raiden ran to his right, that way he'd meet up with Snake. The warehouse was pretty big and had lots of room to run. Raiden got out his grenades. He threw one on top of on of the boxes in the warehouse. It exploded, and just as he predicted, fell over and blocked one of the ways. Snake wasn't sure what Raiden was doing.  
  
Raiden ran down throwing grenades on top of boxes till they all collapsed. This would force Snake to run all the way up a row instead of cutting through the middle. Raiden had finally gotten done on the east side. Snake was on the east side. He had no choice but to run all the way to the southeastern corner. Unprepared Snake tripped one of Raiden's claymores! Raiden had nailed Snake!  
  
Snake got up and Raiden had knocked down the boxes on the western side now. Damn! Raiden still had plenty of grenades left. Snake was going to run to the west but there was probably a claymore there too. Instead Snake ran up the middle since the other paths were blocked. BAM! A grenade exploded. Raiden must've thrown it. Luckily for Snake, he wasn't affected in the blast.  
  
The center of the warehouse was blocked off by the boxes that Raiden had knocked down. This meant that now they were basically running around in a big Square. Kind of like fighting Ocelot.  
  
Snake ran up the eastern row, and Raiden up the western. When each turned the corner, Snake was armed with a PSG-1. He turned the corner and quickly fired off a shot. Raiden was hit in the arm, but not too badly. Raiden pulled out his Socom now. He waited to see what Snake would do. With his Socom in one hand, and a grenade in the other, Raiden came out of hiding and decided to chase Snake!  
  
Snake was running down the eastern side now. He then ran into the center and jumped on top of a box. They were tall, but not so tall he couldn't jump on. He wanted to elevate himself more, but if he did that he'd be a sore thumb to Raiden, and now that Raiden was actually DOING something Snake couldn't stick out like a sore thumb.  
  
Raiden had ran right past Snake. Raiden actually stopped and thought for a moment. 'Snake can't be THAT fast,' he thought, and then he turned around and looked on a box and Snake was right there! Raiden quickly threw a grenade as Snake hopped off and ran the other way. Raiden continued to run around. The grenade had detonated and had actually blown a hole in the center.  
  
Raiden picked up his claymore that he put down in the southwestern corner. He grabbed it and decided to put that on one of the boxes in the center. Snake might actually try something like that again.  
  
Snake wanted to put down C4, but if he couldn't monitor Raiden's movements, it wasn't that useful. Snake, still equipped with his PSG-1 and was now in the northeastern corner, decided that if he really wanted to win this he'd have to make it look a little good.  
  
Raiden's claymore was on the center box in the west, both of them. Raiden thought Snake would do something like that again. He wasn't too sure though. He couldn't anticipate moves like Snake could, but at least he was beginning to learn his enemy. With his Socom still equipped he took out his grenades again.  
  
Snake was still on the move. Unless they saw each other, Snake and Raiden almost never stopped. Snake wasn't breaking a sweat. He still knew what kind of person Raiden was. But he was completely unprepared when he detonated another claymore, as he made tried to elevate himeelf. He fell of, and he knew Raiden was still moving! He quickly got back on the box and got up as high as he could on the next set of stacked boxes. He looked through his scope, and saw Raiden setting another claymore in the northwestern corner. He shot the claymore and it detonated in Raiden's hands! Raiden hadn't used a ration, but he certainly didn't expect Snake to do that.  
  
Snake then laid down and watched Raiden run to the southwestern corner. He had a grenade in hand and had pulled the pin. He got to where Snake was and threw the grenade! In a swift motion Snake had jumped off the pile of boxes just as the grenade detonated. He landed on Raiden and they tumbled over with full blown force.  
  
Remembering what happened in the blast furnace, Raiden kicked Snake off quickly and fired a shot into his arm with the Socom. If Snake wasn't going to give remorse, than neither should Raiden.  
  
"Ack!" Snake screamed as he was shot in the arm. He quickly got up and before Raiden could fire off another shot he kicked the Socom away and did a round-house kick that knocked Raiden down.  
  
Raiden quickly got back on his feet. He looked at his Socom on the ground. Immediantly he and Snake dived for it. They both grabbed it at the same time. They tussled for the gun as if it were the only gun they had. As they tussled Raiden kicked Snake twice trying to break his grip.  
  
"I've had enough!" Snake said and then reached back and smacked Raiden with his FAMAS. Raiden yelped like a dog, but didn't let the grip go on the Socom. He kicked Snake in the face now, and retrieved his Socom. Snake flew off, but he watched as Raiden put it away. Raiden then did a torso- axle into Snake, and he connected with Snake, but in return Snake kicked Raiden. Thus, they both took damage, but only Snake used a ration. Amazing! Raiden was actually TAKING ON the Legend now! He had a small chance to win too.  
  
Snake and Raiden quickly got up, and Snake rolled Raiden's way. This time, Raiden had jumped over Snake as he was balled up. Unfortunately he landed right behind Snake and so all Snake had to do was do a sweeper kick and it knocked Raiden off his feet.  
  
Snake lifted his foot up and nearly stepped on Raiden's face, but Raiden kicked Snake in the kneecap. Snake didn't go down, but the kick was actually pretty damn painful. Snake groaned at first but quickly kicked Raiden while he was down. Raiden screamed, Damn Snake could hit hard.  
  
Raiden kicked Snake in the kneecap again and then he got up and ran. Snake, pulled out his Socom and fired it like a semi-automatic machine gun. The bullets spread out vastly, but to Snake's amazement, NONE managed to hit Raiden!  
  
Snake began to give chase. He had to reach Raiden before Raiden reached the doors at the end. Dammit! Snake could run fast, but Raiden could run just a bit faster. Snake then took one shot at Raiden's leg. Raiden yelped once again and fell over. Snake ran right past him, and through the doors. But before he went through the doors he turned around faced Raiden. "Not bad kid." He said and then disappeared through the doors.  
  
TO BE CONTINUED.....  
  
A/N: Hmmmm this makes me rethink who should win...but I had to make Raiden DO something, and he actually had to HIT Snake sooner or later and I was getting bored with him taking all the damage anyway. Please R+R! Oh and by the way....something came up with Chapter 12 that has prompt me to delete a few scenes so chapter 12 will take a little longer than expected to post.... 


	12. From a Solid to a Liquid

A/N: Well, this is actually surprising me. It would be more movieish if Raiden won huh? Well, now that the last two chapters came up....I'm not sure who should win! But just keep reading. Oh, since I haven't said it for a while. Spoilers to both MGS games.  
  
CHAPTER 12-FROM A SOLID TO A LIQUID  
  
Liquid Snake had been watching Snake and Raiden. It was interesting, and he enjoyed it. "If that kid wins then there won't be anyone left to stop Metal Gear." He said to Ocelot, who was standing right next to him. They were in the surveilience room, watching Snake and Raiden make their way through the Aqueduct. The Camera's were positioned all around the room.  
  
"I still think they're working together, they're doing this to set us up!" Ocelot suspected. "They're both out to stop Metal Gear, there's no question about it. They're doing this to make us think they're agaisnt each other." Ocelot thought aloud.  
  
Liquid thought otherwise. "They have to be agasint each other. They wouldn't go so far out of their way to set it all up just to make us think differently. The boy seemed to get Snake off his feet. We need someone like that."  
  
Ocelot took a card out of his pocket. "Do we activate the PAL now? Or do we wait?" It was the PAL key! He must've taken it from Baker when they were in the cell, and he was torturing Baker. Perhaps that wasn't the best "adjustment" for Otacon to make. They'd already activated the first two, the room temperature and the cold temperature. The key was actually red hot from being in Ocelot's pocket. They could activate Metal Gear anytime!  
  
"Lets let them come to us first." Liquid said.  
  
***  
  
Snake ran thorugh the Aqueducts. He was thinking a little bit. Raiden had gotten better somehow. It was kind of strange at first. Actually, the thought of Raiden winning the battle actually made Snake smile. In fact, Snake was grinning now. Raiden was actually using what he had. Snake hadn't been this proud of Raiden since the Big Shell. He was actually happy that Raiden had hit him, but that didn't mean that Snake was going to go soft on him now. He was still on the battlefield, and Raiden was still the enemy.  
  
Snake got into the Underground Maintanence Base and wasn't sure of what to do. He could wait for Raiden, or he could go and spy on Ocelot and Liquid. Since Ocelot had tortured Raiden and not Snake, things HAD to be VERY different! Snake had to know what. But the competition was at stake now. Dammit! It was then that Snake had an idea.  
  
***  
  
Raiden wasn't far behind Snake. About two minutes after Snake had entered, Raiden was right behind him. Raiden was fueled now. He suddenly had a burst of confidence. Now, instead of thinking that he couldn't beat Snake, that last battle in the warehouse made him think he had a chance. He didn't want anymore pity from Snake.  
  
Raiden stopped, and thought for a moment. Yes, Raiden was actually thinking. He'd never been here before, but he saw REX standing in the middle. It looked much more Threatening than the RAYS did actually. Raiden ran down the hallway until he was completely in the base. Raiden didn't know where Snake was....then he had an idea.  
  
Raiden took out a stun grenade. He thought that Snake was above him. He pulled the pin and threw it. What Raiden didn't know was that Snake was below him....  
  
Snake heard something hit the grouind. He wasn't sure what it was, or where it landed. Whatever it was Raiden had thrown, it was on the same level as Raiden. Snake didn't think of it being a threat, but to be safe he dived anyway.  
  
Raiden covered his eyes as the Stun Grenade exploded. A flash of light illuminated the base, and Raiden was already running to climb the ladder. He was still convinced that Snake was above him.  
  
Snake surfaced now. His life was still perfect. Another adjustment that Otacon had made was that this nuclear waste water couldn't harm you. The room was back to normal now. Snake noticed that Raiden really WAS after him now. Raiden had finally come out of his shell.  
  
Raiden was on the third level now. He looked around once he got on the back of REX. He looked to see if there were any guards. He hadn't been here before, and he had to check. There was one guard. Raiden sniped him. Not the best thing but he expected that Snake was in the surveilence room waiting for him. He couldn't see very well, but he could see that there were two people in the room. Who was Snake talking to? Or was that really Snake? Raiden jumped off REX and ran around until he was at the room. He ran up the stairs and could see clearly that it wasn't Snake in there! It was Ocelot and Liquid. He stepped to the side as not to be seen. He decided to listen. Perhaps they knew where Snake was.  
  
"Its only a matter of time. Snake seems to be progressing well." Liquid said.  
  
"I still think they're working together." Ocelot said. He looked at the PAL key and then he saw Raiden on one of the monitors. He was right outside the room. "Does Raiden know how the PAL works?" He asked as he activated a silent alarm. The guards would come and fnd Raiden soon. But it was going to take a while.  
  
"You interrogated him a bit...you should know." Liquid responded.  
  
"I was more curious as to where Snake was. I never asked him about the key."  
  
"Why didn't you? Because you already had the key?" Liquid said, and saw Raiden on the monitors now.  
  
"He doesn't seem to know that much. He's more of a sidekick." Ocelot said. He wanted to walk out and bitchslap Raiden, but there was no way he could do that.  
  
The guards came rushing now...but there were only five! The alarm was supposed to alert 30 guards. "What happened to the other 25?' Ocelot asked puzzled.  
  
Raiden looked and saw five guards coming fast. Then as they were climbing over REX, they were each capped one-by-one. "LIQUID!" He hard a voice. "Stay out of this! The kid is mine!" It was Snake. He'd capped off all 30 guards. Raiden ran down the stairs. Snake, now standing on the back of REX, pointed his PSG-1 at Raiden, but couldn't pull the trigger. Liquid had to die first. He couldn't have Liquid interfere.  
  
With a swift motion Liquid snatched the PAL key from Ocelot. Raiden wasn't sure what was going on, but he looked at Snake. "What's going on?"  
  
Snake glared at Raiden. He knew what Liquid was doing. "Raiden, forget about the competition, and worry about REX! Liquid is about to activate Metal Gear and that means we'll have to take it down."  
  
Raiden didn't like the sound of that. Ocelot shoved Raiden out of the way. "Its about to be over! You should probably just get the hell out of here now."  
  
Metal Gear was activated and Liquid came out of the surveillence room. The cockpit was opening. Ocelot was going to make a dash for it, but decided that now was the time to make his leave. Liquid could take care of the rest. Metal Gear may have only had room for one, but REX was going to belong to Liquid. Ocelot had "better" things to do anyway.  
  
Liquid stopped at the side of the cockpit as Raiden pointed a gun at him. Liquid threw off his trench coat. "What are you waiting for? Shoot!" Snake called from behind. Raiden couldn't pull the trigger.  
  
"It was you!" Raiden said. "You're the one who told me about the claymores aren't you?" Raiden said. He was right.  
  
Liquid laughed. "You were so pathetic. Thinking you could take on the legend. I'm surprised you got this far. I've been watching you from the beginning. All your screw ups. I'm surprised you have a weapon!"  
  
Snake still had his gun pointed at Liquid. Why wouldn't he fire? He had a moment to take out Liquid AND Raiden right here! But for some reason Snake let Liquid talk. Maybe Snake wanted Raiden to take on REX.  
  
Raiden still had his gun pointed at Liquid. There was one bullet in the clip, eventhough he had plenty more. "I can take on the Legend! I got this far didn't I!?" Raiden screamed. He was so sick of everyone telling him that he couldn't do it. Raiden knew he was more than a pile of crap. He wanted to believe that he could take on the legend. He didn't need Liquid stopping him.  
  
"Why don't you ask Snake then? He didn't seem to think you could do it. He still doesn't think much higher of you now!" Liquid pointed at Snake.  
  
Raiden looked at Snake, and then back at Liquid. Raiden WANTED to fight REX! He wanted some action. Raiden wanted to prove himself to Snake, and to Campbell. He was so fueled now that it hurt. He wanted to prove that he wasn't useless. He wanted to shoot Liquid and take him down then turn the gun on Snake. Raiden was starting to lose it.  
  
"Shut that hole and your face and shove it!" Snake said. "I brought Raiden here to turn him into a soilder! He's not my sidekick at all! Now jump in that damn thing and show Raiden what a battle looks like!"  
  
Liquid didn't want to stop talking. He wanted to keep talking and he wanted to keep fueling Raiden. In secret, Liquid wanted Raiden to win. If Raiden got rid of Snake, then there was absolutely nothing that could stop him!  
  
Raiden looked at Snake. "I can do this. We can settle this later Snake, but let ME take on REX!"  
  
Snake didn't see any harm. Raiden was actually going insane, and there was nothing that Snake could do to stop it! This sudden burst in Raiden's ego could either save him or break him. Snake wanted Raiden to battle REX. If he battled REX then that would most likely make Raiden a shoulder. Snake was keeping his promise to Campbell, and showing him that Raiden wasn't useless. Not only that, but he was showing that there was some promise in Raiden as well.  
  
Liquid laughed. "This is just too good! Why do you waste your time Snake? And Raiden, why do you waste your time going up against Snake even though you know you can't win?"  
  
Raiden was silent. His anger still burning. "I can win this! There isn't anything stopping me! I can win this! Now jump in and let me prove myself!" He let an outburst out. He really did believe he had what it took.  
  
"I guess it can't be helped. Snake doesn't have much time left anyway." Liquid said. FOXDIE was still here, but Snake knew it wouldn't kill him. Liquid would more than likely die from it, unless Otacon had more "adjustments".  
  
"What are you talking about?" Raiden asked.  
  
"Worry about it later kid. Its not important. On the battlefield, you can't be distracted by these things. I'll be fine."  
  
Raiden took that in. For now the competition didn't matter. It was time for Raiden to prove himself. Liquid jumped into REX and got it fired up. Snake on the other hand. He remained on REX's back, as the platform began to rise.  
  
With the rumbling in effect Snake could barely be heard but Raiden had heard him nice and clear. "Its time to prove yourself kid." And prove himself, Raiden was going to have to.  
  
TO BE CONTINUED....  
  
A/N The competition is still on....I just thought I'd make it more interesting because well, I have an interesting plan in store for both Raiden and Snake and even Liquid, but in order to pull it off, Raiden needs to fight REX. Chapter 13 is in the works. Keep the reviews coming because its great inspiration. 


	13. Metal Gear Rex

A/N: Again, spoilers to both MGS games. This chapter will be a little interesting. Yes, Raiden will be taking on REX, no he won't get stepped on. Yes, Snake takes part in the battle. No, I won't tell you anymore, just read on.  
  
CHAPTER 13-METAL GEAR REX  
  
REX stood on the platform. Raiden looked in awe and shock. It was bigger than RAY, but it didn't look as if it could go as fast as RAY, but it looked a lot more bulky. It would take at least five minutes for REX to start up. Raiden took that time to look around. Right behind him were some stingers as well as the launcher. He also saw a box of chaff grenades. He grabbed the stinger launcher and then he immediantly called Otacon. He only had five minutes to gather as much info about his target as he possibly could.  
  
"Alright Raiden, I'll tell you what you're doing. This is new to you, as it was too Snake. You see the big round plate on REX's left arm?" Otacon began. He heard Raiden say "yeah" on the other end. "Thats a Radome. As long as thats around you can't penatrate REX's armor at all, not even with the stingers. These aren't the RAYS."  
  
"So what do I do?"  
  
"First, you need to destroy the Radome. With that gone Liquid is forced to open up the cockpit. REX's armor is perfect you can't destroy it. The only way to penatrate REX is from the inside." Otacon said.  
  
"So I take out the Radome and then fire into the cockpit? Its that simple?" Otacon said.  
  
"Not as simple as it looks. REX is equipped with a laser much more devastating than the RAYS. REX also fires three knee missiles at a time that lock in on his target. These are much harder to dodge than the RAYs. REX is also equppied with machine guns. They'll shred you if you give them the chance. You need to stay close to REX at all cost or else the missiles will more than likely hit you."  
  
"You made it with absolute perfection yet you gave it a weakness?" Raiden said. It actually sounded pretty damn easy to take on.  
  
"Its not a weakness! I like to think of it as a character flaw. People just aren't complete without some type of character flaw don't you think?"  
  
Raiden grimaced at what Otacon said "Yeah you're right. But don't remind me of mine." He said jokingly. At least Raiden wasn't nervous about taking on Metal Gear.  
  
***  
  
Roughly two minutes left. Snake, who was still on REX's back didn't know how he was going to get down without killing himself. He could jump onto the knee and then to the ground. It could work. Snake quickly did this. Grey Fox would come and destroy the Radome anyway. Unless Otacon had deleted him from that part...in which he probably did.  
  
Snake was now at the base of REX. It had been a while since Snake had seen REX. Five years actually. He ran behind REX. He wanted to see Raiden take the damn thing down. Snake ran into a corner. It was at a good enough distance that he could observe Raiden and be safely out of harms way. The only problem was that Snake couldn't anticipate what Liquid would do.  
  
***  
  
REX was now starting up, but his circuits quickly jammed. "Blast!" Liquid shouted in the cockpit. Raiden had started with a chaff grenade. Liquid didn't care. He could guess where Raiden was. Liquid wanted to take out Snake. He was certain that Raiden was the one taking him on though. He was convinced that Snake was still on the back of REX. He'd worry about Snake later.  
  
Raiden watched as REX turned to a wall and fired three missles from its knees. He then saw Snake at the far end of the room smoking a cigerette. REX was facing the other wall thank goodness. He still wanted to be the one to take Snake down. Raiden threw another chaff grenade. Then he ran up behind REX and fired off a stinger at the Radome. It didn't take it out though.  
  
Liquid felt this rumble and turned REX around. It took a while to do this. REX certainly wasn't as agile as RAY, but it certainly was a bit tougher than RAY. When Liquid finally turned, Snake dashed off to the other end of the room.  
  
Raiden threw another chaff grenade and stood his ground. Just as Raiden had thought, REX overshot the missiles. He fired off into the Radome and dashed off quickly. Raiden had to keep moving a bit. As Raiden dashed out of the way, the laser swept through where he was once standing.  
  
Liquid was not getting the feeling that Raiden was on the move. Liquid had underestimated him. Raiden certainly wasn't as dumb as he looked. Though after some of the things he did, Liquid couldn't be too sure.  
  
Raiden threw another chaff. The problem was this one came a little late. His position was now revealed to Liquid. Raiden didn't realize this at first, but as the missiles came closer and closer it was all clear to him now. Raiden got out of the way of the blast but he was still affected by it a little bit. No biggy, but he threw another chaff grenade just in case. He was starting to run low now. He fired off another stinger to REX's Radome.  
  
To Raiden's surprise it still wasn't down. Before another thought came to Raiden he fired off another stinger and that too hit the Radome. REX was still going. But now the Radome was screwed up a bit.  
  
The chaff was gone but REX's system was still screwed up. Raiden had hit it pretty hard. Liquid wasn't sure where Raiden or Snake was. But he fired off the machine guns in several different directions. Snake hid behind a metal box, and signaled Raiden over.  
  
Raiden went over to Snake, he didn't trust Snake at all, but this wasn't the time to think about the competition. "What do you want? I'm not doing bad. I'd say I'm doing good this time."  
  
Snake cut him off. "You won't have that much luck destroying the Radome. You should save your stingers while they last."  
  
"I can't do that! For once I'm actually DOING something! And it feels great!" Raiden exclaimed. "You don't know what its like to be compared to the legend do you?"  
  
Snake just stood there. They had a moment before Liquid would actually spot them again. "Kid, do you know what its like BEING the legend?"  
  
Raiden hadn't thought of that before. "I don't like being compared to you. It isn't easy. We could go on a mission together and if it were a success, people would look at me and give you praise. If it was a failure, people would look at you and tell you its my fault."  
  
"You can't be worried about success. In a mission, there is no such thing as failure. Eversince the Shadow Moses incident, I haven't been able to take a stroll outside my front door. I haven't been able to walk the streets without covering my face. You don't want to be the legend kid."  
  
"Tell me Snake, why did you do it?"  
  
Snake actually wasn't sure what Raiden was talking about. "Do what?"  
  
"Why did you accept my challenge? And why did you send me to Ocelot? Why did you do nothing but torture me Snake?"  
  
Raiden hadn't figured it out yet. Perhaps that was a good thing. "Raiden, look at yourself now! Before you couldn't even pull the pin on a grenade! Now you can actually pull the trigger on a SOCOM. I sent you to Ocelot, and I tortured you because you really were THAT bad! I needed competition, so I did all that stuff to toughen you up."  
  
Raiden hadn't noticed the change. "I've had it in me. I just didn't think you'd accept the challenge. I actually didn't mean it literally."  
  
"You needed a good ass-whoopin' anyway. There isn't much time left. Take out REX so we can finish this once and for all. Don't let up now Raiden, because I haven't even given you a pillow yet."  
  
With a swift moment Grey Fox was on the scene. But instead of his gun, he had a sword. "There you are!" Liquid shouted as he could now finally see on the Radome. He blew up several barrels before he finaly found Snake and Raiden. He could kill two birds with one stone.  
  
Grey Fox, swiftly in his exoskeleton leaped up and slashed at the Radome. It only took one swift slash of his sword. He cut the Radome off entirely, slicing through it like butter. He made it seem so easy.  
  
Liquid opened up the cockpit. Raiden's several stingers did nothing but damage it, yet Grey Fox chopped the damn thing off. "Stay the hell out of this Fox! This is between me, Snake, and that thing over there!" He said pointing to Raiden.  
  
This was his chance! Raiden had a chance to take out Metal Gear. He held his ground though. He looked at Snake. Snake gave him that 'don't think just shoot' look. Raiden took this in. The problem was that they were standing so damn close, but Snake didn't care.  
  
Grey Fox disappeared in his stealth as Raiden fired the stinger. Liquid turned REX only to see the stinger hit right under the cockpit! The blast was heavy and Liquid felt it. It hurt a bit, but he knew he'd be fine. After all, in the real shadow moses Liquid had survived much more than that.  
  
REX wasn't down yet. He walked over to Raiden and lifted his foot in the air. Snake, since he was standing next to Raiden quickly rolled out of the way. Raiden, did his torso axle out of the way. REX's foot came down with hard and erupting THUD! The barrels next to REX had ignited on fire.  
  
Snake took out a stun grenade and tossed it. FLASH! The room illuminated. Raiden coudln't see, and neither could Liquid. But Raiden could still look on with the Stingers, and he did so. He fired off a stinger and it hit right in the cockpit.  
  
REX was stumbling now. Raidn in front of REX, Snake behind REX. "Snake! Raiden! I'll crush you both like bugs!" Liquid said. But the shock was too much for REX. REX went down on both knees, and the right arm dropped to the ground. REX then had an internal blast that eventually reached its legs. Snake and Raiden, standing a bit too close were blown back by the blast.  
  
Snake hit a wall and was knocked unconcious. Raiden on the other hand, was just blown back a bit and hit the ground. He wasn't knocked out though.  
  
Raiden blinked a bit, and before he knew it, Liquid was on the ground and walking towards him. "I'll worry about Snake later." Liquid said as he walked up to Raiden.  
  
Raiden wanted to blow him away with the stingers....but he was out. He tossed the launcher aside and came to a stance. He wiggled his legs a bit like Jell-o. Liquid laughed at the sight. "I can't believe your still here!"  
  
Raiden then finally managed to speak, "You talk to damn much!" He told Liquid.  
  
"The kid has a mouth." Liquid said and chuckled. He then threw a right punch at Raiden. Raiden caught his punch! It was amazing! Raiden held Liquid's fist, and even he was in shock at what he did. With Liquid's fist still in Raiden's hand he quickly kicked Liquid off. 'Gotta think! What would Snake do?'  
  
Liquid landed on his back. Raiden remembered the blast furnace. He quickly ran up and stepped on Liquid's chest. He used his other foot and kicked Liquid in the head knocking him out cold. Raiden gasped in shock. Had he actually done this? He was amazed! He knocked Liquid out. He reached into Liquid's pocket and fouind a bomb and some rope. Why the hell Liquid was carrying it around was anyone's guess.  
  
Snake was unconcious but managed a blink. The last thing he saw was Raiden walking towards him....slowly. Was this it? Was Raiden actually going to win? Snake was unsure, before he blacked out again.  
  
TO BE CONTINUED....  
  
A/N: Had to make it interesting...ummmm before I have so many people asking questions. It ain't over yet *points to the words "TO BE CONTINUED"* From here on out is basically a one-on-one deathmatch...sort of. Chapter 14 coming soon! 


	14. Raiden Takes a Stand

A/N: Not quite sure how this is going to turn out myself. OK, now this is the point where the story is going to take a big turn of events. So ummm there won't really be much of anymore Raiden bashing if thats what you wanted from the rest of this fic. Besides there are hundreds of other fics devoted to Raiden bashing.  
  
Chapter 14-RAIDEN TAKES A STAND  
  
"Wake up Snake!" A voice said to Snake. Snake slowly opened his eyes. The voice wasn't a british accent so Snake knew it wasn't Liquid. Snake had fully opened his eyes to see Raiden standing over him. Snake's suit was gone, as well as Raiden's. They were both on top of REX shirtless, weaponless, and rationless. Raiden wanted things to be a bit different now.  
  
"Raiden? Where's Liquid?" Snake asked. He didn't bother to look around. For once, Raiden had power over Snake. Snake was tied down, Raiden was standing right in front of him.  
  
"Oh, Liquid? Don't worry about Liquid. He doesn't matter anymore." Raiden said. "They said I wouldn't get this far! They doubted me. Well NOW look who has the upper hand!" Raiden exclaimed. He crossed his arms. "You all shouldn't have doubted me."  
  
Snake had to admit he never expected to be where he was now. The room was illuminated in red. REX was down, and here he sat on top of REX. But this time it wasn't Liquid in front of him. This time it was a rookie. Someone who Snake must've underestimated maybe just a bit much.  
  
Raiden with his arms crossed went up to Snake. He wanted to kick and spit on Snake. But he couldn't do that. He wanted ths moment, this would probably be the last chance without any interuptions that he'd get a chance to talk to Snake like this. "You didn't really think I'd get this far did you?"  
  
Snake was silent for a moment. He wasn't sure how to answer Raiden. A part of Snake KNEW Raiden could do this. But another part, a rather large part at that, really did think that Raiden wouldn't get this far. Perhaps Snake really should've ended it much sooner. If he hadn't been knocked out by the blast he could've ended this. But he had several chances and didn't take them. But it didn't matter. Snake knew that he still had an upper hand. He could still hit harder than Raiden could.  
  
"I'm waiting for an answer Snake!" Raiden snarled. It was the first time Snake had EVER seen Raiden this upset before.  
  
"Kid, I had faith in you from the beginning. I knew you could do this. Granted, no one thought you'd get this far. But you've proven yourself to us by actually getting here."  
  
Raiden glared at Snake. 'He's full of it!' He told himself. "Why did you spare me then? All those chances you had to kill me, you never took them!"  
  
Snake looked at up at Raiden now. He could now see the expression on his face. Raiden wasn't just mad. He was sad. Why was he sad? He should've been happy that he actually got this far. That he actually got the legend tied up. Though Snake could still move his feet, there was no point if he couldn't use his hands.  
  
Raiden cleared his throat, and that reminded Snake that Raiden was asking a question. "I spared you becasue in those moments, taking you out would've been too easy, even for me! Second, you never did anything. You were so...YOU! Believe me Raiden, it was pathetic. You were a sad excuse in the beginning Raiden."  
  
Raiden was still saddened. The things that Snake said had hurt. "I rushed in without thinking. I can still take you Snake. At first I was pretty damn stupid. Now, I'm actually thinking. I couldn't have taken you one without a weapon. Now why did you really spare me?"  
  
"I didn't lie about what I said Raiden. You were doing badly. Did you know that the Colonel and Mei Ling were about to pull the plug on you?" Snake said.  
  
Raiden face went from being saddened to anger. "You're lying!" He shouted. "They wouldn't do that! They'd let us settle this out to the way we agreed to!" He was fueled now. "You're just jealous! Jealous because I've actually learned from you! You think I'm going to beat you now!"  
  
Snake couldn't believe what he was hearing. "You actually learned something? I didn't think it would work."  
  
With that remark Raiden kicked Snake in the leg. It wasn't too hard. "I learned from you Snake, because your the best. But they wouldn't pull the plug on me."  
  
"If it weren't for me having faith in you, you wouldn't be standing here! They wanted to take you out of the simulation because they felt sorry for you! They thought you couldn't do it. I stood up for you and supported you!"  
  
Raiden shook his head. "You really DO think I'm going to beat you don't you? Your lies won't save you Snake. We need to settle this once and for all. I don't care about age anymore. You've proven to me that it definitely takes experience to win."  
  
"Still don't believe me huh?' Snake said. He shook his head in disappointment with a sigh. "If you don't believe me Raiden, then call the Colonel. He'll tell you the truth."  
  
Raiden decided to do just that. He called up the Colonel. "Colonel. What is this about you trying to cut me out of the simulation?" He still didn't believe Snake.  
  
"We were going to cut you out Raiden. That much is true. We probably really didn't have any faith in you. You were screwing up too much. We felt sorry for you Raiden...so we decided that we should pull the plug on you and save you. But Snake told us you had promise so we let you stay. We really wanted to save you."  
  
"Save me from what!? Save me from Snake or from myself? I was scared at first. Thats why I screwed up. I was scared and overconfident. But now I know my limits. So long Colonel!" With that Raiden cut him off. The Colonel tried to call Raiden back but he turned his codec off. He didn't feel like talking.  
  
"See kid? I did have faith in you. I stood up for you." Snake said. He was actually modest about it. Snake sounded so calm right now. Raiden on the other hand, sounded so upset.  
  
"How can you be so damn calm!?" Raiden said.  
  
"I'm calm because I've been here before. You kid? I don't know about you. You have every right to be upset with us all. Even me. But you can't keep on looking back on how we doubted you. Focus on the fact that you're here now! And focus on the fact that you actually go here on your own!"  
  
"Thats not entirely ture! I had Otacon...I even had you."  
  
"Thats not what I mean kid. I had help on getting through this too. What I mean is that you could've given up at any point during this simulation. You didn't. You kept strong. I'm not surprised you got this far." Snake wish he hadn't said that because he really was surprised. "You've shown me what you can do, but you're still a rookie."  
  
Raiden, now more upset then ever, walked over closer to REX's back. He pointed over to Liquid. "There's your brother if you want to know!" He was out cold. Snake didn't really care.  
  
Raiden then pulled out the bomb that he got from Liquid. It looked small, but it was very powerful. The rest of the rope Raiden had used on Liqud to tie him up. Raiden set the bomb down next to Liquid. He set the timer for thirty minutes. Before he started it he went and untied Snake. "Lets finish this Snake!"  
  
Snake stood up and then watched Raiden hold up a small switch. He pushed it and then on Snake's radar it showed 30:00. "I'm cutting our time short! We've got thirty minutes to settle this. He pressed the switch and the countdown started. "I've showed everyone that I can take on the legend....but I haven't showed anyone that I can beat the legend."  
  
TO BE CONTINUED....  
  
A/N: In my opinion this wasn't one of my better chapters...but. I think I actually like MY Raiden, he actually DOES something now. OK, now we're getting closer and closer to the end. Who will win? It could be either one now. I like how this is turning out so far. Don't you? See how interesting the story has suddenly become now that Raiden actually does something? Oh, and as I upload this chapter the story is officially done! But I won't upload the rest until later on. 


	15. Battle on top of Rex

A/N: OK Chapter 14 was kind of mixed and such. Listen people if you don't like something then don't read it...of course if you've gotten this far there has to be SOMETHING that you like about it! But let me remind you that if there really is something you don't like...tough because its MY story and I'M the one who's writing it. Any problems with my fic are entirely yours. I will NEVER go back and change something unless there's an error. With all that said, this chapter keeps the competition in mind as Snake and Raiden face off on Metal Gear.  
  
Chapter 15-BATTLE ON TOP OF REX  
  
The countdown had now started. Thirty minutes to finish everything. This was it. What it had all come down to. Snake and Raiden stood on top of Metal Gear facing each other. The bomb was ticking. Already 28 minutes left. "Lets end this Snake!" Raiden said as he started with a bum-rush. Snake dodged and managed to kick Raiden in the back. Raiden didn't fall off or anything. It was almost as if he didn't feel it at all.  
  
Raiden turned around and threw a punch at Snake. Snake caught his hand just as Raiden did Liquid before. But they both ended up kicking each other at the same time. They both fell back, but not over. Snake then followed up with a roundhouse kick that hit Raiden in the side of the face sending him twirling over the edge of REX.  
  
Raiden managed to grab a hold of the edge. He held on and then Snake came up and stepped on his left hand. Raiden groaned in agony at first, but then used his right hand and pulled on Snake's leg. Snake fell flat on his back and that gave Raiden time to get back on REX.  
  
Snake quickly got up and did a sweeper kick on Raiden, knocking HIM flat on his back. Raiden quickly sprung up and hit Snake on his way up. Snake once again went on his back. It didn't take too long for Snake to get up. When he did Raiden was already putting a punch in his face. Snake actually hadn't expected that.  
  
Snake countered with his punch-punch-kick combo and then quickly ran to the opposite side of REX and kept in a fighting stance. Raiden was in a bit of pain but kept his ground. Snake quickly bum rushed at Raiden and hit him right in the gut. They both actually went down, Raiden on his back, and Snake on top of Raiden.  
  
Raiden used his feet and kicked Snake off. "Goddamn! Your heavy!" He grunted as he scrawny little legs tossed Snake's muscular body off of him. He was actually panting from that. Not too bad though.  
  
Snake was preparing another bum rush. When he actually did start to rush Raiden did a torso-axle right into Snake. It hit Snake and sent him flying over the edge. Snake had just barely caught on. Raiden went and stepped on BOTH of Snake's hands.  
  
Though Snake wasn't quite that young he managed to flip back on, swinging his dangling feet upwards and he smacked Raiden! Raiden was shocked as he was knocked backwards. He never expected that either.  
  
***  
  
"What's happening?" Otacon asked as he got back with more popcorn watching on the monitors.  
  
"Its pretty close." Campbell said. "Snake better win this....because I need those fifty dollars!"  
  
Mei Ling turned her attention away from the monitors. "I thought yous said the bet was off?"  
  
"That was BEFORE Raiden stopped sucking! The bet is on now missy!" Campbell said waving a finger in front of her. "I'm rooting for Snake all the way."  
  
Mei Ling sighed. "OK fine. We'll make this an actual bet. But only because its so close. If Snake wins then I'll pay up. If Raiden wins then you gotta pay up."  
  
"What if nobody wins though?' Otacon asked.  
  
Campbell and Mei Ling looked at him for a moment. "What are you talking about? There has to be a winner."  
  
"What if....nevermind." Otacon quickly cut himself off. He didn't want to think of it that way.  
  
"What if what?" Campbell cut in.  
  
"What if....neither of them win? What if....I don't know....what if Liquid won? Then what?" Otacon said.  
  
"You wanna place a bet on Liquid?" Campbell said excitedly. "We can do that because you know I'm going to kick your damn ass!"  
  
"Well, I'll tell you what. I bet that neither of them is going to win this match. I'm not placing my bet on Liquid, but I'm not placing my bet on either of the other two either. I'm just going to bet that neither will win."  
  
Mei Ling looked a little surprised. She gave Otacon a strange look. "And YOU'RE supposed to be the genius!?"  
  
Otacon smirked, "My bet still stands."  
  
***  
  
20 minutes left! Raiden was getting tired. Snake could certainly hit hard. He was back on his back now. He was breathing heavily, and so was Snake. They both put up a good fight with each other so far. Snake was certainly satisfied.  
  
When Raiden got back up Snake was already in another rush for him. Raiden dived out of the way and managed to do a sweeper kick. It connected but it was clear now that Raiden was getting tired. Snake didn't even fall down from that. He grabbed Raiden by the foot and flailed him off REX.  
  
"Snaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaake!" He shouted as he fell to what could've been his doom.  
  
Snake ran over to Liquid. The bomb was still armed. 17 minutes left. There was no way to stop it. There was no way he was going to let Raiden win! Liquid slowly opened his eyes to see Snake actually untying him. "What the bloody hell are you dong?" He exclaimed.  
  
"You were always the smart one! How the hell do we disarm this thing!" He said and showed Liquid the bomb. It turned out the bomb was a miniature Nuclear Warhead!  
  
Snake untied his brother and then watched Liquid do some of his handy work. "There isn't anyway to stop it! I can extend the time, but there isn't anyway to disarm it. I'll give us ten more minutes. That should be enough time for us to get the hell out of here."  
  
"What do you mean 'us'? I don't remember ever teaming up with you." Snake said. But they didn't have much of a choice. Liquid had now given them 25 minutes to escape.  
  
"You're sneaking suit is right there on the ground next to the exit! All your weapons look to be there, so grab them and lets go!" Liquid demanded.  
  
Snake went and grabbed his suit anyway. "Alright whatever. But after this we're enemies once again. You're going to help me escape, then I'm giving you give minutes to get as far away from me as you can!" Snake said. He had to make it sound like he meant it. Liquid didn't know that it was all a VR simulation.  
  
"Fine with me! Now put that suit on and lets go!"  
  
Snake put on his Sneaking suit. Then he equipped his Socom. Something was wrong though. He emptied the clip to find that there was no ammo! He did the same to his FAMAS. Nothing! All his grenades were gone! "Raiden! That bastard!" Snake knew that Raiden had survived the fall, but when did he empty his arsenal? When he was knocked out?  
  
"There isn't any time to be crying over your broken toys we have to go!" Liquid panicked. He sounded scared. Scared? Liquid? He wasn't scared of anything!  
  
"Alright then. Lets go!" Snake said and dropped his empty weapons to the ground. He still had one moment to take Raiden out. The problem was he didn't know what Raiden would come at him with.  
  
***  
  
"Raiden should be dead shouldn't he?" Campbell said biting his nails. "He should be dead! Come on! I need fifty dollars!"  
  
Otacon observed. So far so good. "Raiden isn't dead. He's fine if you look on the monitor." Otacon smirked.  
  
"What are you smiling about?" Mei Ling asked puzzled.  
  
Otacon's smirk was so calm and relaxed. "My bet still stands."  
  
TO BE CONTINUED....  
  
A/N: OK its coming close to an end now. Its actually turning out better than I thought it would. Anyways, the next chapter will come soon so please R+R. 


	16. The Shadow Moses Story

A/N: Sorry for the long pause (I usually update quite frequently) but of course Fanfiction had to do the split and I still had to decide how I wanted it to end. OK its come down to this. The Shadow Moses Story is coming closer and closer to its end. This is the last chapter for the competition. There is ONE more chapter after this (The epilogue of course), and believe me, it was really REALLY hard to choose a winner and really hard to make an ending! Please if you didn't like the ending...don't complain because you ain't the one who wrote it...you'll just have to accept it..sorry, but if you don't like it tell me anyway ^_^  
  
CHAPTER 16-THE SHADOW MOSES STORY  
  
"Come on brother lets go!" Liquid said and then ran off ahead. Snake was in his sneaking suit now. He still couldn't believe that Raiden had emptied out his entire arsenal. That actually wasn't a bad idea. It was ironic actually. Now Snake was the one who had no weapons. He remembered the jeep though. That had a gun on it, Snake didn't know if he'd get shocked by using it or not, but he had to take his chances.  
  
Snake ran out into the parking lot, the alarm sounded. Snake wasn't sure if he should worry or not. After all, Liquid was with him. A shot rang past him. Guess that answered his question. He looked over at Liquid. They were shooting at him too.  
  
Liquid jumped in a jeep and tried to start it up. For level eight the guards sure did have bad aim. Snake grab one guard in a choke hold and used him to shield himself and Liquid.  
  
Liquid jumped out of a jeep and went to the next. This one started up right away. Snake snapped the neck of the guard and jumped into the back of the jeep. He grabbed a hold of the machine gun and fired it. He didn't get shocked so it was alright. He shot the three guards in the room and then blew a hole in the gate. "Lets get out of here Liquid!" Snake shouted. Eventhough Liquid didn't like the sound of Snake giving orders, he drove off into the tunnel anyway.  
  
They were speeding off in the jeep at top speed. They had 18 minutes left and counting. The route was about 5-10 minutes long....or at least it was when Meryl was driving. Liquid was much more of an aggresive driver. As they came up to the first check point, Liquid slamed the breaks. He didn't want to risk blowing the shit out of them.  
  
Snake shot the barrels and the guards ignited in flames. Liquid then sped off. They were making good timing. Only been on the road for 1 minute. Liquid didn't take any prisoners. When the next checkpoint came he sped right through it, running over one of the guards and busting through.  
  
As they drove off, Snake was beginning to think that Raiden wasn't coming. He thought too soon. Raiden had drove up behind them. In one hand Raiden had the steering wheel gripped. In the other was a FAMAS rifle. "We have to finish this NOW Snake!" Raiden said.  
  
Liquid heard Raiden and then began to swerve around a bit. "Kill him Snake! We have to get rid of the bloddy bastard!"  
  
Snake shot at Raiden, but Liquid was going too fast. But Liquid HAD to keep going fast. They were roughly down to 18 minutes now. When Liquid reset the time limit, it wasn't by that much.  
  
Raiden aimed his FAMAS and shot. He hit Liquid in the shoulder. The jeep began to swerve a bit more as Liquid groaned in pain. He kept his hand on the wheel and continued to drive.  
  
Snake continued to shoot at Raiden, who was also swerving around. It made it a little hard at first. Until Raiden had finally come up beside the two Snakes. He turned and shot Snake in his side. Snake groaned but didn't take his focus off Raiden as he shot back.  
  
Liquid reached into the glove box and pulled out a SOCOM, and shot at Raiden. With both guns on him at a time Raiden took a few hits, more than Snake, but not so much that his life was threatened.  
  
They had no rations now, and all Snake had to do was shoot at him until he died. It could be over in a matter of minutes. But they didn't know how much life they had left.  
  
Raiden, still riding beside them turned his aim on Liquid and shot at him now. Snake continued to shoot at Raiden, but Raiden was constantly speeding up and slowing down beside them, making him harder to kill.  
  
"Blast!" Liquid screamed as another shot hit him in his shoulder. He still drove with one hand, and he still used his other to shoot at Raiden. They were still running out of time.  
  
'This isn't how its supposed to be!' Snake thought to himself. 'It isn't supposed to end like this.' There was a light at the end of the tunnel now, and Raiden quickly sped up to cut them off at the tunnel's exit.  
  
"Brother!" Liquid screamed before they crashed. There was a bright flash of light, they'd gotten to the outside world, still alive...hopefully.  
  
The dust, gas, smoke, and snow had finally cleared. Snake was trapped under the jeep with his brother. He turned to face Liquid. For once it actually felt as if they really were brothers. When he faced Liquid the blood smeared all over his face revealed that he was dead. Snake actually felt sad about it. They'd made a pretty good team actually.  
  
Snake then looked at the other jeep. Raiden's jeep was on its side. It suddenly fell over onto its wheels, as Raiden rose from the blanket of snow. He was still a little beat up from the battle on top of REX, and his sneaking suit was ripped at the top that part and his chest was showing. "Snake!" He said breathing heavily. He was still standing strong!  
  
Raiden walked up to Snake. Snake tried to get up from under the jeep but it was no use. Dammit! Was this the end? Had Raiden actually won? Had he actually beaten the legend? No! Snake refused to be beaten by a little punk like Raiden, but he couldn't get from under the jeep. He tried and tried, but eventually just gave in. He had to accept the fact that he lost.  
  
Raiden stood over Snake and pointed his FAMAS at him. "I told you I could beat the leg-" he froze. He was about to pull the trigger and end the whole match but he froze, and began to shake violently he never got to pull the trigger. "What....the.....hell.....is happening to me?" He shrieked.  
  
Snake was unsure himelf, but he watched as Raiden continued to shake violently. Raiden then collapsed to the ground. Before Raiden had died he said to Snake in a very labored voice "What did you do to me?' Then he collapsed once more and died in the snow.  
  
Snake looked in astonishment. Was it some sort of heart attack? He looked as Raiden's skin turned blue. FOXDIE! Raiden had been killed by FOXDIE!  
  
TO BE CONCLUDED....  
  
A/N There you have it! Believe me this was actually REALLY hard to decide...and please...if you want a sequal then tell me (though I'm not sure if I should write one) because I need some inspiration for that too. Anyways, there is an alternate ending I wrote in which Snake lost but I don't plan on posting it in anyway whatsoever. Anyway, on to the epilogue! 


	17. Epilogue

A/N: Again, I hope some of you guys liked that endng. Though I can't really say that Snake won....but in some ways you could I guess...but really it was FOXDIE that killed Raiden (in which Snake was the carrier boy hehe). Anyways, this is just an epilouge. Why I didn't post it along with Chapter 16 I'll never know.  
  
EPILOUGE  
  
Snake and Raiden came out of VR. Snake with a little smile on his face. Though he didn't know what happened either, he could likely guess. Raiden frowned for a moment, but then actually managed a smile.  
  
"What the hell happened?" Campbell asked. He took the words right out of Raiden's mouth.  
  
"I wish I knew exactly." Mei Ling said.  
  
"Well, pay up Mei Ling. I believe that Snake has won!"  
  
"No, you two have got to pay ME!" Otacon exclaimed so excitedly.  
  
"Why you?" Mei Ling asked.  
  
"Because considerably nobody won!"  
  
"What are you talking about?" The Colonel happy face suddenly turned into a face of disappointment.  
  
"Snake didn't kill Raiden! Therefore Snake didn't really win!" Otacon began. "Don't tell me you guys forgot about FOXDIE?" Everyone had forgotten about FOXDIE. Everyone excpet Snake that is. "Don't you see...Raiden was killed by FOXDIE."  
  
"But Snake is the carrier of FOXDIE remember? Therefore Snake won!" Campbell argued. "See? Now pay up both of you!"  
  
Snake stopped it all. "I thought you took that out of the simulation?"  
  
Otacon smiled a bit. "I didn't take it out becasue I didn't think that YOU'D actually ever go through the simulation! So I left it there. Kind of cool huh? Plus that could've been a glitch, Raiden shouldn't have been able to succumb to FOXDIE"  
  
Snake shook his head in disappointment. "I could've killed the kid Otacon. You should've taken that out!"  
  
Raiden suddenly burst out. He was happy suddenly. "I was THIS close." He said holding up his thumb and index finger, then squeezing them together so that the space inbetween was only about two millimeters long. "If it weren't for this FOXDIE I'd have killed you and you know it!"  
  
Snake shook his head, but Raiden had a point. "I would've found someway to get out of it. But I agree with Otacon. I didn't really win. I only came out victorious because of FOXDIE."  
  
Otacon cleared his throat, and glared at Mei Ling and the Colonel. "What about my money?"  
  
The Colonel blushed a little bit. "About your money....ummm." He stepped over to Snake and whispered in his ear, "Can I borrow fifty dollars? PLEASE! I made a bet and lost...I was sure I was gonna win! I'll pay you back...honest I will Snake."  
  
Snake broke out in laughter. No one had ever seen Snake laugh like this before. Snake hadn't laughed so hard before in his life. Not like this anyway. Why was he laughing? He wiped a tear from his eye. "I'm so happy for you guys."  
  
"So you'll let me borrow the money?" Campbell spoke aloud now.  
  
Snake continued to laugh and then stopped. "No way pops I need that money!"  
  
"What the hell did you call me!?" Campbell became as red as a chili pepper. He didn't like being called "pops".  
  
"Relax, the experience made me feel a lot younger." Snake laughed. He then looked at Raiden and grinned. Nervously, Raiden grinned back. "Not bad kid. Good game. See how good you became when you were more relaxed and had that inner strength?"  
  
Snake extended out his hand. Raiden was a bit unsure at first, but then he took Snake's hand and they shook. "Good game Snake, and thanks."  
  
Snake looked puzzled at first. "Thanks for what?"  
  
Raiden grinned and let Snake's hand go. "Thanks for giving me that courage and strength. Don't think I could've done it without you."  
  
Snake took a moment to think. Perhaps he'd taught Raiden something after all. "One thing still puzzles me though. Why is it that you always rush in without thinking?"  
  
Raiden laughed. He expected that question to come from Snake sooner or later. "OK, Snake I've been on a different battle field then you. The battle field I was on there was no 'thinking' only 'shoot to kill' and 'only the strong survive.'  
  
Mei Ling came back with the results now. "Tsk tsk. If you hadn't killed so many people Snake you'd have gotten 'Big Boss' ranking....again." She then looked at Raiden. "You really don't want to see these....they're actually satisfactory. Now one thing STILL puzzles me. How exactly did your first records show no kills?"  
  
"Mei Ling you make no kills sound like a bad thing." Snake said with a slight grimace. "The point of a stealth mission is not to kill at all."  
  
"Well, actually I really didn't get any KO's...I could've actually done this if I wanted to. But you wouldn't believe how incredibly dumb the gaurds are. Most of my spots came from messing with the guards. I was able to get several to shoot their partners." Raiden chuckled. Though he didn't really like Mei Ling speaking of his records he managed. "God I have to PEE! We were in there for 12 hours!" He said and ran off to the bathroom.  
  
Raiden dashed out the door and to the bathroom. "When he's done in there I got to go." Snake said.  
  
"Your both stupid. Adult diapers are going to be the wave of the future!" Otacon screamed raising his hands. "You'll see. If you piss on yourself as much as I do!"  
  
When Raiden came back after about 15 minutes of ummm "releasing his spiritual energy", he turned and looked at Snake. "Now that I've shown you I'm not quite that much of a rookie, wanna go at it again sometime?"  
  
Snake grinned. "If you put up a fight from the beginning I'm game." They shook on that. Afterwards, Otacon started to shut down the VR simulation. It needed a rest now anyway. But at least they had it recorded. Otacon took the tape out of the recording VCR. They didn't have a DVD recorder...yet anyway. He took out a label and then wrote on it: "Raiden vs. Snake: The Shadow Moses Story."  
  
THE END  
  
A/N: Well? What did you guys think? Some fic huh? I'm proud of it! This was one hell of an accomplishment for me. I hope you all had as much fun reading it as I did writing it. I have been inspired a sequal to this story and am currently working on it. Its entitled "Raiden vs. Snake 2: The Big Shell Story." BUT FOX-HOUND won't be in it because that would really screw up the storyline you know. Keep a look out for the fic if you liked this one. However whether I post it or not depends entirely on your reviews. If you actually want me to write a sequal then you've got to TELL ME! Otherwise I'll be wasting my time if no one wants a sequal... 


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